Hank woke to the sound and smell of bacon frying the next morning. He had slept in his bedroom, apparently without closing the door. He kept a guest bedroom prepared at all times in case anyone came to stay, although no one ever did, until last night anyway. Kalinda had slept there, apparently rising before him and making herself at home in his kitchen, not that he minded that at all. The clock on his nightstand told him it was just after 6am.
His head felt a little fuzzy as he got out of bed, but he certainly wasn't hung over. It took more than a few double shots of whisky to do that. Before going downstairs, he took a quick shower and dressed for work.
The sound of the bacon frying had stopped by the time he walked down the stairs. He found Kalinda sitting at the kitchen island, phone in one hand and a sandwich in the other. There was another sandwich on a plate waiting for Hank, along with a cup of coffee. She was dressed in her clothes from the night before of course, and somehow looked as fresh as a daisy. Her hair was in that tight bun again. That disappointed him a little. He wanted to see her hair down.
"Morning," Kalinda said with her mouth full. Cops rarely had airs or graces. "Hope you don't mind me raiding the place? Made you my special: a bacon and egg sandwich. If you don't like it, there's something wrong with you."
The soft, posh English accent was a delight first thing in the morning. But Hank kept his reaction to a simple smile in greeting. "Morning. I'm sure it'll be delicious." He sat down next to her and went right to work on the sandwich. Indeed it was delicious. "Very nice," he opined, with his mouth full.
"Hank?"
"Yeah?"
"Last night was inappropriate, wasn't it?"
"No," he said almost immediately. "We went for a few drinks, and you slept in a guest room at my place because it got too late to head home."
"And we cuddled and cried together on the sofa. Well, I did the crying, but you get my point. I woke up this morning wondering if you'd want me to leave Intelligence."
"Leave Intelligence? Of course not," he insisted. "If there was any wrongdoing, which there wasn't, it was mine. No, I don't want you to leave the team. I want us both to feel good about a night that we both needed, and I want you to come over for a drink again sometime."
There, he had said it. It was true, and he felt like it was best if she knew where he stood.
"Well, I'm happy to hear that. I'd like to do it again, now that I know you're okay with it. But, Hank, you are my boss. Let's not forget that."
"I haven't forgotten it. And I know what gossip can be like in a police station, so we'll keep it quiet, even though all we're doing is enjoying each other's company."
Finished with her sandwich, Kalinda washed it down with some coffee then shrugged. "Whatever you want. We'll keep it quiet, even though all we're doing is enjoying each other's company, as you said. Church and state, too."
"Huh?" he said, mouth full again.
"Church and state. Outside of work, we can share drinks and wallow in our misery together. But at work, you're the sergeant and I'm the detective. You'll treat me no different to how you'd treat me if last night and anything else that comes from it never happened, and I'll do the same with you. When we're on shift, you're my boss and nothing more. That's how it has to be. We're professionals."
Hank nodded seriously as he picked up his coffee cup. One good think about being the kind of age that he and Kalinda were was the maturity they had. She was absolutely right, and he knew it. "You're exactly right. That's how it will be," he said.
Kalinda's phone buzzed. She looked at it and got up, giving him a warm smile. "Alright, that's my friend picking me up. She's outside. Thanks for letting me stay over. I'll see you at the 21st later."
"Thanks for the breakfast," Hank said, actively making himself smile back at her. It came so unnaturally to him. Hell, feeling happy came unnaturally to him at this point.
"You're welcome," Kalinda said on her way out of the kitchen. "You're out of milk by the way."
He heard the front door open, then close. She was gone. In an instant the house felt very empty. If anything, even emptier than it had the day before.
By the time he got to work, Kalinda wasn't on Hank's mind. His 'incident' from the day before was. He was going to have to speak to the team about it. Being open about his feelings didn't come naturally to him at all. Sometimes, though, it had to be done. This was one such occasion. He owed them that after freezing up on a crime scene.
When he walked into the bullpen, almost the entire team was already there. Only Kevin was missing, not that it was a problem, the shift hadn't started yet.
"Morning," he said to the group.
Greetings came back at him, including from Kalinda, who acted like she hadn't woken up at his house that morning. On his way to his office, he noticed Kim watching him. She was waiting for him to live up to what he had told her last night about speaking to the team. She had nothing to worry about. He also noticed that Hailey looked slightly less sleep-deprived and absent than she had recently.
He spent fifteen minutes in his office. During that time, Hailey brought him a coffee, and Kevin arrived for work. Just before the shift officially started, Hank walked out into the bullpen.
"Listen up," he said, requiring and immediately receiving the fullest attention from everyone. "You all know what happened yesterday. That girl got shot, and I froze up. It was the first shooting I'd seen since Anna Avalos, and the girl reminded me of her. It was a tough moment for me. But what happened shouldn't have happened. I've beat myself up about it last night, and told myself some home truths. It helped. So what happened yesterday is not going to happen again. Anyone got anything they want to say?"
Adam spoke first. "We know Anna meant something to you, boss. That girl did look like her. It would have been a difficult moment for anyone, not to mention Anna also shot you when that whole thing went down. Yeah, it would be hard for anyone to deal with that."
Next came Kevin. "Have you thought about... you know..." He meant have you thought about going to therapy, but hadn't been able to outright say it to Hank's face. There was still a stigma around it, even in the modern world.
"You all know how I run this unit," Hank said, looking around at them. "Well, Kalinda doesn't yet, but the rest of you do. If you look me in the eye and tell me you're good after something has happened, I believe you. I expect the same trust from you, and I'm telling you all now, I'm good. I had a moment. It's gone now."
"Good enough for me," Kalinda said. Little did the rest of the team know, she was well aware that Hank had talked out some of his grief. He had done it with her.
Hailey, who hadn't been able to make eye contact with Hank while Anna was being discussed, now nodded her agreement. "You say you're good, you're good."
Hank heard agreement from the others. His team trusted him, as they should. With that, he considered the matter closed. It was time to turn to the next item on the morning's agenda. He looked at Kim. "Kim, my office."
He went back in, and Kim soon followed, closing the door behind her. She looked like she thought he might tear a strip off her for confronting him yesterday, and she was ready to fight her corner.
"Sit down," he instructed as he took his seat behind the desk.
Kim did as she was instructed.
"You got anything to say about what I said out there?" he asked.
"No, Sarge. I agree with Hailey. You say you're good, you're good."
Hank nodded slightly. "Yesterday, you showed leadership by coming in here. That's what it takes to come in and question me. And you were right to question me. I'm impressed. Leadership is the one thing you need to add to your game. Do that, and you can make it a long way in your career. You have all the other abilities."
Kim looked surprised and humbled. It clearly wasn't what she had expected to hear. "Thank you. That means a lot. I never stop trying to improve."
"I want to put you forward for promotion to detective. Are you up for it? There's studying you'll have to do, and an exam to pass. I know things are busy for you right now with your daughter."
She didn't need time to think about it. "I'll go for it, Sarge. Whatever time it needs, I'll make the time. And thank you."
"Good. I'll get to work on that this morning. It's not going to be too many years before I retire, Kim. Someone's going to have to lead this unit when that happens, and I want that person to come from within."
Kim nodded. "That'll be Hailey though, I figure. Or maybe Kalinda now. They're the most experienced people we have."
"The decision will be made at the time, whenever that is. Like I said, add leadership to your game. Don't overstep though. Find the balance."
The unspoken message was that Kim would be seriously considered if she used the coming years to prove herself capable of stepping up to the role. They were interrupted by her phone ringing in her pocket, to her annoyance.
"Sorry, Sarge." She took out the phone to get rid of the call, but hesitated when she saw the name on the screen. She looked at Hank. "It's Kelly Severide. Probably has something for us."
"Take it. I was done anyway."
Kim answered the phone without standing up. "Burgess."
Hank couldn't hear Severide's part of the call, so he waited until she was done to find out what was up.
When the call was over, Kim filled him in. "Says he's got something we're going to want to see."
"Always cryptic, those damn firefighters," Hank grumbled. "I took a case when I was on the way in, but I can spare a couple of bodies. Go check it out. Take Kalinda with you."
Kim nodded. "Sarge." With that, she stood up and left the office.
Hank watched her go and listened to what she said out in the bullpen. She spoke politely but with an air of authority. "Got a call from the Fire Department, something we need to see. Kalinda, it's you and me. Let's check it out."
Hank heard Kalinda's chair being pushed back from her desk, then that lovely, soft, English accent. "Okay, let's go. I'll let you drive."
Hank smiled to himself. It had been a rough twenty-four hours. Hell, it had been a rough few weeks. But things looked like they were turning a corner.
A/N: Hank and Kalinda are open to spending time together outside of work again. Is it a good idea?
Kim impressed Hank, and he has decided to push the button on her promotion to detective. He also hinted that she might be in the running to lead Intelligence when Hank retires. Who would you choose?
