It had been an entire week since they had coffee together. When they exchanged numbers on that Saturday he was sure that she would call him soon. He thought that they had a connection of sorts. After the eighth day with no word from her, he decided to take the initiative and call her. When he called what he thought was her cell phone, the way she answered it was cold and professional. He didn't know that she could be so cold. It was almost as if she was trying to separate her personal life from her work life. After dialing the number he waited while it rang.

"Beckett."

"Hi, Kate. Am I calling you at a bad time?"

Rick was the furthest from her mind. Of all the people she thought would be calling her he wasn't the one. They had just caught a case where a small child had been killed. So far they had no clues as to who had committed this terrible crime. Children being murdered were the worst in her mind and she took it out on everyone including her boys. And it came out in her personal life as well. She just took the offensive to everything and what anyone did or said and who talked to her. Rick was no different. She was so involved in the case that she forgot to call him. But then she remembered who she was talking to and softened a little bit.

"Rick, I'm sorry. I'm neck-deep in this case and I don't have the time to talk. I do want to talk but I can't right now."

"It's okay if you want me to call back. I know you must be in the middle of a very important investigation but I just wanted to see how you were."

"It's okay Rick. I can spare a couple of minutes to talk. I've been on this case for the last three days and I haven't made any progress so I could use a couple of minutes from it. So what did you want?"

"We haven't spoken in a while and I wanted to see you again. I enjoyed our coffee date and wanted to know if you'd be interested in going to dinner with me."

Secretly she wanted to say yes. But there was just something about him that she couldn't place. On one hand, she was a fool for not calling him. She was going to give herself until the end of her shift today and find the time to call him. She didn't want to throw away the one chance for happiness.

"I'd like that Rick. Do you want to meet me there or would you like to pick me up at my place? But be forewarned I might not be able to make it because of this case."

"I'll take my chances. I'll pick you up at your place. Just text me your address. How does six-thirty sound?"

"Great. I'll hopefully see you then."

Kate sends him a short text with her address complete with a happy face emoji. Maybe she should just go for it and let the chips fall with him where they may. She has little time to think about what to wear because Ryan needs to show her something on the video he scrubbed. So much for her daydreaming.

Xx

Ryan's street cam footage was a bust. They had what they thought was their suspect going into the apartment building but they had later found out that he was a night shift worker who resembled their suspect a little too closely. So in essence they were back to square one.

With nothing else to do since they had hit a dead-end in their case, Kate told the boys to head home for the night. Tomorrow they would start with fresh eyes and see what they could find by reworking the evidence once more. She gets home at a decent hour for the first time in many weeks. She's happy because she knows in less than an hour and a half that Rick will be here to pick her up. She starts going through her closet to see what would work for tonight's date. Not knowing where they're going she decided to go in a light airy dress. Something that would work for just about any occasion except super formal. She pulls the dress down from the rack in the closet and likes the look of it. She finds matching shoes and a small purse and leaves them on the bed. She has enough time so she jumps in the shower, does her hair and makeup, and is dressed with fifteen minutes to spare.

Xx

For the first time in his life, he is nervous. There's just something about her and he can't quite put his finger on it. There's something about her that he can't understand about her. He scoffs at the idea that he has formed in his head and thinks that what his subconscious is thinking is not possible.

He knows that her life is in danger and he can't really afford to reveal his secret because if he does she'll think that he is what everyone else thought was when he was at the carnival. A freak. Well, that might be the truth but he can still do good with the gift that he has. And he intends to do just that. He never told her where are they were going or what to wear. But he has faith in her and knows that she'll wear something appropriate.

Xx

He stands at the ready to knock on her door but to his surprise, the door swings open before he could rap on it revealing Kate in a very nice dress. He loves the way she looks in it. Purple seems to bring out the sparkle in her eyes.

"Hi, Kate."

"Hi, Rick. Would you like to come in?"

"Sure. Are you almost ready?"

"I am. I just need to get my purse and my wrap."

"Good. I'll wait right here."

"You know, you never did tell me where we were going," Kate calls out from the small room off her bedroom.

"I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind. We're going to a small restaurant on West Street. It's called The Palm. I had thought of a different place to bring you but they're closed for remodeling. It overlooks Central Park. But this, as far as I know, has food that is to die for."

"I like a good place to eat. With my job I never get to go out and have a nice meal. Especially with a very handsome man." Kate said as she started to blush a little.

Rick was taken with her comment. Maybe she did have an open mind about some things. He would let the night progress and see where it brought him.

Xx

They entered the restaurant and walked up to the maître d' podium.

"Good evening Do you have a reservation for Rogers?" Rick asks.

The maître d' looks in his book and sees that Mr. Rodgers does indeed have a reservation for tonight. But he can tell that with the number of people who came to eat tonight that his table will be delayed by about ten minutes.

"Mr. Rogers you do have a reservation tonight. But we've been extremely busy trying to accommodate other guests so your table is almost ready. Would you be so kind as to wait at the bar? We would like to offer you a complimentary drink at the bar if you do.

"Thank you," Rick replies.

"We'll come and get you when your table is ready."

They maître d' quickly hurries off and make sure that their table will be ready with no delays.

Kate and Rick sit at the bar and they decide to share a little about their childhood. Rick learned all about her obsession with working during the summers to save for a motorcycle.

And Kate learned all about life in the carnival. She really enjoyed hearing about what his life was like moving from town to town as he performed his act. She had to hand it to him. He put on a great show even if he really couldn't 'see' into the future.

The maître d' came from the dining room and told them that their table was ready. They were seated and given menus with the prices only showing up in Rick's menu. They ordered their meals, wine, and dessert. While they were having a cup of after-dinner coffee with their dessert, Kate said,

"Rick, I had a very enjoyable time with you. Do you think that you would like to do something like this again?"

Rick took her hand into his and the second he did he began to feel weird then a searing pain hit his chest. He knew that he was seeing what was going to happen to her in her future. It was like he was in her body. This had never happened to him before and he became very frightened. When he looked across at her she looked like there was nothing wrong and was still waiting for an answer to her question.

"I'd like that Kate, a lot. But I want to take you somewhere different. Dinner was great but what about a play?"

"I'd really like that. But with this case, I'm currently working it might be a little bit tough."

"That's okay Kate. I'm a very patient man." Rick said as he released her hand and then everything became normal once again.