Disclaimer: Dick Wolf, la de dah.

Title: Hurricane Katrina

Chap. 18 – Post-Mortem

Summary: What happens to Goren and Katayeva after the shooting.

Characters: Goren, Eames, Deakins, Logan

Rating: M

Genre: Humor/Angst

Reviews welcome.

Friday afternoon. One P.P., Major Case Squad Room.

Captain James Deakins made three phone calls. The first to Detective Alex Eames. He described the morning's events leading up to the shooting of Nicole Wallace by Katayeva. He knew that Goren would probably turn to Eames for refuge. Deakins wanted her to be prepared. She thanked him for the call and promised to take care of Goren. The second call was to Katayeva's husband, Jack Kennedy. Deakins wanted to give him a heads up on what shape his wife might be in when she arrived home later today. Kennedy listened patiently, was reassured that his wife was unharmed and receiving medical care for a minor injury. Told Deakins that he would be home early to deal with his wife. When he suggested that he come to One P.P. to pick up his wife, Deakins said that Kat would then know he had called her husband. Might not go over well. Promised Kennedy to see to it Kat arrived home safe and sound. Kennedy sighed and agreed. He knew his wife. The third call was to the Chief of D's, who said he wanted to view the interrogation tape. Expressed the opinion that Nicole Wallace's death was of no great loss to the world. Said he would review the security criteria for One P.P. And requested Deakins to give a pat on the back to both Goren and Katayeva.

After Goren had showered and changed into jeans and a t-shirt, he returned to the 11th floor. Didn't notice Deakins around, so he located an empty conference room where he could phone Eames in private.

"Eames, Nicole….Nicole is dead..Katayeva…uh…she shot her. Right between the eyes."

"Whoa, Bobby! Deakins gave me a heads up that Wallace was dead, but said you'd give me the details. How is Katayeva? How are you? This must have been some interrogation."

"God…god, Eames. You have no idea….You…you and uh..Kat were right on the money about Nicole's feelings for me. I'm alright. A little acid sprayed on my jacket….the department will buy me a new one. Kat's got a couple acid droplet burns on her leg. Logan was quick-thinking and poured water over it immediately to dilute the acid. They're not back from the ER yet."

"Bobby, I want you to come right over to my place after work. I'll have dinner ready. You can talk if you want. Or you can just chill. Whatever you need."

"That sounds real good, Eames. I …. I appreciate it. See you later."

Eames turned on her laptop and shot an email to the Captain, advising him that Goren would be with her after work. Deakins was relieved.

As Goren came out of the conference room he heard the sounds of Logan and Katayeva's voices. He rounded the corner and saw Kat dressed in grey sweat pants and a USMA sweat shirt. She was sitting on top of her desk, legs crossed Indian style. She looked….OK. A little pale, but OK.

"Hey, Kat. What'd the doctor say?"

"He said I'm fine. Logan's quick action kept it from being much worse."

Logan modestly brushed off the thanks and praise.

"That was some interrogation, you two. I can't believe I never saw you take that gun out of your leg holster, Kat," said Mike, shaking his head.

"That's because my back was to you," grinned Katayeva.

"I…I umm …never saw the second gun, either. And I was right next to you," sighed Goren.

"Bobby, you were preoccupied. You were doing your job brilliantly. I depended on you to focus on Wallace," said Kat, placing her hand on Goren's arm, "You weren't supposed to be looking at me."

Before Goren could reply, Logan smirked, "Yeah, Bobby boy. You were busy describing Katayeva's, ahhh, talents in the boudoir. And when she put her hand on your leg, I'm surprised you could remember your name."

Goren and Kat glanced at each other as they both turned pink….Bobby started to apologize to her…

"Goren, listen to me. You have nothing to apologize for. The whole thing was an act."

Logan rolled his eyes. Katayeva smacked him.

"Thanks for your help, Mike, and for the trip to the ER."

"Any time."

Deakins approached carrying two file folders. He handed one each to Goren and Kat.

"OK, you two. Start filling out the case paperwork. Kat, you know you have extra since you discharged your weapon."

"Yes, sir," chorused the two detectives. They sat down at their desks and started on the pile of paper.

"Goren?"

He looked up at Kat, eyebrows raised.

"Are you alright? You've been dealing with Wallace for a couple of years. And I doubt that this is the way you expected it to end. I know that there is a certain relationship between long term adversaries, Bobby."

Goren sighed. Thought for a minute.

"No…this is …uh…definitely not the ending I ever imagined. I …I feel bad that you….you got caught in the middle of it, Kat. None of us ever likes to fire our weapon, let alone kill someone. That shouldn't have fallen on you."

"What, Goren? It's not my battle? Or are you upset that you didn't get to pull the trigger?"

"I…I'm not sure. I'm going to have to….to sort it out in my mind."

"Think away," she sighed.

Two hours later the detectives had completed every scrap of paperwork. Deakins accepted the forms and ordered them to go home…now.

Goren told Deakins that he was going to have dinner with Eames. The Captain patted him on the shoulder and sent him on his way. Then he had an officer drive Katayeva home. The officer reported back that her husband had opened the front door when they arrived and enveloped the detective in his arms. Deakins pinched the bridge of his nose and downed two more Advil™ with some cold coffee. I should buy these in bulk. Alright, my detectives are both OK. Eames will nursemaid Goren tonight. Kennedy will take care of his wife. Thank god we have the weekend to recover from this.

Goren arrived at Eames' apartment. When she opened the door, Goren just fell into her arms and held on for dear life. She finally got him to the sofa. Goren stretched out with his head in her lap. He talked. He was silent. Eames just stroked his head gently with one hand, her other hand resting over his heart. They were on the sofa for over an hour before they got up to eat dinner. Eames had picked up comfort food. Homemade (from the gourmet takeout place) chicken noodle soup, fresh baked bread, mixed greens salads. Homemade peanut butter cookies for dessert. When they finally made it to the table, Goren ate like a horse. He suddenly realized he never had any lunch. The food was delicious.

After dinner they turned the TV on toan X-Files re-run. Bobby and Alex sat on the floor. Alex sat with her back up against the sofa, her legs spread. Bobby sat between her legs, leaning his head back against her. She stroked his arms, his head, rubbed his shoulders. After several hours of television, Alex told Bobby it was time for bed. He nodded and got up to leave. Alex stopped him.

"You're not going to be alone tonight, Goren, you are staying here."

He nodded gratefully and made for her sofa.

"Nope, come with me," said Eames softly. She took his hand and led him to her bedroom. Bobby looked at her.

"We won't be doing anything interesting here, Bobby. I just gave birth, remember? Now, lose the jeans."

He nodded and took off his jeans, so that he was wearing his boxers and t-shirt. Spooned Eames, his arm curled around her waist. Pulled the quilt over them. Mumbled goodnight. Bobby was asleep in a flash. Alex relaxed into his hold and joined him in dreamland.

Similar behavior took place at the Katayeva/Kennedy household. Jack Kennedy had farmed their two children out to one of Katayeva's brothers overnight. He had a similar takeout dinner waiting for his wife. A bubble bath for two, so he could massage away the tension in her shoulders. Jack and Kat spooned in bed also. The bubble bath had relaxed her enough that she fell asleep almost immediately. He pulled up the coverlet over them. Then buried his face in her hair, trying to inhale her. Thank you, God, that she is alright.

At 9 a.m. Jack's two sisters arrived to take Kat to their favorite day spa. She went without protest, much to Jack's relief. He was surprised when the phone rang a half hour later. Even more surprised that it was Detective Goren on the line.

"She's gone for the day."

"Gone?"

"My sisters took her to the day spa. It's very relaxing. Just what she needs right now."

"Oh…"

"Detective Goren…."

"Please..uh…call me Bobby."

"Bobby. Can you meet me for lunch? I'd really like to talk to you."

"Umm…sure…where?"

"How about Carapelli's in the Village? Noon?"

"That's fine. I've been there. See you later then."

Bobby Goren and Jack Kennedy had no trouble recognizing each other. They were the two biggest guys in the restaurant. The blonde beach boy with the blue eyes and the curly dark haired, chocolate eyed bear. They shook hands, both refraining from the usual big guy hand crushing contest. Neither had anything to prove.

The waitress took their orders for pasta and red wine.

"How is Kat feeling?" asked Goren.

"She'll be OK. We had a relaxing evening last night. Today at the spa she'll do some yoga, EFT, get a massage, they'll do acupuncture for the acid burns."

"EFT? What is EFT?"

"Emotional Freedom Technique™. It's a spinoff of Roger Callahan's Thought Form Therapy™. We've both been using it for a couple of years. Very effective with emotional stress and trauma."

"Is this the first time that ….uh…she's had to shoot someone? Killed them?"

"No. It's happened a couple of times since she's on the force. Not sure about when she's in the military. She's not allowed to talk about it. Now, Detective, what can you tell me about the woman she shot?"

"One word. Evil. Has killed several people that we know of. She's been a thorn in my side, in the side of the NYPD, for a few years."

"Can you tell me exactly what happened in that interrogation room yesterday?"

Goren sighed. Then he provided Jack Kennedy with a detailed description of what transpired. Including the actions between himself and Kat and his conversation with Nicole. He made it clear they were playing a part.

"If Kat hadn't realized Nicole had something hidden in the tissue, the two of us could've been doused in the face with acid."

Kennedy shuddered momentarily. Rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"You're not married, are you, Bobby?"

"No. Never."

"It is the most difficult thing you can do. My wife is the best thing that ever happened to me. But we have to negotiate the mine field of options. Who does what and when. Most of all, her job. She won't give it up and I won't give her up. I can handle it pretty well, until something like this happens. If I ever demanded that she quit her job and do something else, she'd kick my ass to the curb. That was the agreement we made when we got married. That I would never ask her to give up her work. I bite my tongue on a regular basis, Bobby."

"I'm not…uh..always so good at that."

"You learn. Marriage is also the best thing I've ever done. I look at Mack and Katie and I just can't believe they're mine. That she's my wife. That she chose me, when she could have had any other man in the world. When you wake up next to the same woman every morning. Bobby, it's a good thing. You know that she is there for you. It's kind of like your job. You've got her back and she's got yours. You're partners."

"That's what partners do."

"Oh, by the way. Do you shoot better than you drive? My wife said you're a menace behind the wheel."

Goren just laughed.

"Yeah, I shoot a lot better than I drive. My regular partner always drives. That way we actually get to where we're going in one piece."

The big guys enjoyed an amiable lunch. Shook hands at the end of it. Went their separate ways. Each considering the other one's connection to the same woman.

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Note: USMA sweatshirt – United States Military Academy (West Point)