Title: Take My Hand (And Show Me The Way)
Fandom: NCIS:Hawai'i
Characters: Lucy Tara, Kate Whistler, Jane Tennant, Kai Holman, Jesse Boone, OC's
Category: Angst, Drama, Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Fluff
Rating: R
Word Count: 1,969
Summary: Set sometime between 1x11 but before the hug and apology in 1x17. Kate is out enjoying her day off and gets pulled into an undercover mission Lucy is working on. To their mutual discomfort, they have to pretend to be a couple - FOR THE MISSION. That's right, y'all. It's a fake dating AU.
Warnings: Canon typical violence, etc.
Notes: Many thanks to Satan for beta'ing this for me, and pointing out all my plot holes. Also for helping me - okay, give me - the title. It's very much appreciated.

"Get in, get in," Jesse urged them quickly. "This road won't stay deserted long and we don't want anyone to see us picking you up."

Lucy and Kate ducked into the waiting suv where Jesse held the door open for them. He slid in behind them and pulled the door shut. It was cramped quarters for Kate who had somehow ended up in the middle seat. There was an agent Lucy wasn't familiar with driving and another one in the front seat.

"Lucy, we have another agent with a similar height and build driving your car back to where you're staying in case our suspects pick you up again but we needed to bring you in. This has gotten too far out of hand and Jane needs to see you both."

"Good," Kate said. "Because I have a few questions."

"Like how did the FBI get involved in this," Jesse suggested. "A heads-up before you barged into our operation would have been nice, Whistler."

"I pulled her in, Jesse," Lucy said at the same time as Kate jumped in.

"Don't blame this on me. It was my day off and I saw Lucy sitting at a table at a restaurant so I went over to say hi," Kate explained.

"Shit," Jesse said, pinching the crease between his eyes with one hand. "This is a mess. No wonder Jane wanted you brought in."

"Where was Tennant? I thought the plan was for her to show up after we arrived at the restaurant but then the only person I saw was Whistler, so I assumed Tennant had been replaced," Lucy said.

Jesse sighed again and held up a hand. "Jane was on the way to the meet when the car she was driving was t-boned by another driver. She's fine. Not too badly injured. She's back at the office already but we think it was deliberate. An attempt to isolate you, Luce, and leave you operating by yourself so you'd be more vulnerable to their plan."

"But then I brought Kate in," Lucy said slowly. "I wonder what they thought."

"No idea, but they seemed to roll with it so we're going to go with it too. We're going to be more closely monitoring you tomorrow, Lucy. Ernie's already on it."

"I told them Kate's last name was Wilson. Ernie will need to get a cover ID set up and-"

"Wait a minute," Kate said, holding up a hand. "I haven't even agreed to do this yet. In case you've forgotten, Special Agent Boone, I work for the FBI and not NCIS. My SAC will need to be briefed and agree before I can do anything. I'm not even trained to do undercover work."

"You did good today," Lucy said, forcing the words out past a clenched jaw. She hated to compliment Whistler on anything but right now, Whistler needed the support. Professionally. If they were going to get this job done then they needed Kate to agree to this. There was no room for doubt. Still, it had been a terrifying moment for Lucy when she had realized that Kate wasn't her backup. There was no room for error in undercover missions like hers and she had brought Kate into a potentially life-threatening situation with no warning or consent. It had left a lump of terror in Lucy's throat that was only now starting to go away.

"Thank you," Kate said. "But that's not really relevant."

"We'll get it sorted out," Boone said. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

That was easy for him to say, Lucy thought ruefully. It wasn't his thigh that Kate was pressed up against in that gorgeous, light, flowy sundress. She tried to scoot closer to the door but there was nowhere to go so Lucy closed her eyes and tried to ignore Kate and formulate the report she would give Tennant when they got back to base.

The war room felt too small with the whole team crowded in it, Lucy thought. Or maybe that was just Kate lurking in the corner. Lucy had expected her to speak out again, object as she had in the SUV on the way back to base, but she hadn't spoken except to add a detail here or there to Lucy's report.

Lucy was thankful. This was her mission after all. Her second undercover mission and she wanted it to go better than the first. She had something to prove, not only to Tennant, but to herself as well.

"So that's what we know," Lucy said in conclusion, putting the remote control back down on the table as she finished her presentation. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Kai said. "Are we sure we should be doing this? They obviously know something is up or they wouldn't have gone after Tennant."

"They may have done us a favor actually," Jane said, stepping into the conversation for the first time. "I think I recognized one of their operatives. They may have just recognized me and tried to take me out as a target of opportunity. If I had showed up with Lucy, our cover would have been blown immediately. They don't have a history with Whistler."

"I still don't like that they targeted you," Lucy said with a scowl.

"Thank you, Lucy. I don't like it much either but once we wrap this up, they'll get the message not to mess with NCIS," Tennant said in her usual calm no-nonsense way. She turned to Jesse next and pinned him with her gaze. "What's our plan now, Jesse? We can't afford to have more communication failures like we had today. Especially with our mission being extended by several more days."

"Just one moment," Whistler cut in, striding forward and holding her hand up to forestall the proceedings. "My SAC-"

"I spoke with him when Jesse notified me about the situation," Tennant said, meeting Whistler's gaze. "And he gave his blessing to help us out with this."

Kate scowled. There was no other word for it, Lucy decided. Yeah, she was pissed. What she had to be pissed about, Lucy didn't know. It wasn't like this would be a bad career move for Kate.

"I need a word," Kate said, ignoring the rest of the room to focus her attention on Tennant. "Privately."

"All right," Jane agreed. "My office. Jesse, finish this briefing with Lucy and Kai. Lucy, come find us when you're done."

Kate waited until Tennant had closed the door and sat down behind her desk before she started talking. "I understand that we're still at the office," Kate began slowly. "But technically, this is my day off. Can we just forget about work for a minute and be Kate and Jane?"

"We can do that," Jane said. "If you'll tell me what's going on." She came back around her desk and sat in one of the chairs in front of it. She didn't gesture toward the second one but Kate knew the invitation was there. She just couldn't bring herself to take it. Not yet when she was still so keyed up.

Kate rested her hands on the back of the chair and let her head fall forward. "I'm not sure I can do this, Jane."

"Ah," Jane said quietly. "I know this is your first undercover mission, but from everything Jesse and Lucy told me you did wonderfully. Lucy even said your contribution saved the mission when she had pushed too hard. If that's not a resounding endorsement-"

"No, I mean, yes. I haven't done this before," Kate agreed. "But that's not the part that I'm worried about. I don't think I can spend three or four days playing Lucy's girlfriend. She hates me and she doesn't trust me at all."

"She doesn't hate you," Jane started.

Kate scoffed and stood, putting her hands on her hips. "You haven't seen how she looks at me."

"She's hurt," Jane said firmly. "And it makes her lash out but there's no way Lucy hates you."

"That almost makes it worse," Kate said. "I don't want to force myself where I'm not wanted."

"You're thinking of this the wrong way," Jane said lightly. "This is a job. Focus on that. You're good at getting your job done."

"Jane, she doesn't trust me. She told me that herself," Kate said, sounding just as resigned as she felt. "I don't know how to fix that."

Jane sighed. "You may not be able to, Kate. But you can't focus on that right now. Lucy trusted you enough to let you be her backup today. Remember that. Maybe this will help her realize she can trust you in a different way."

"Or four days of enforced proximity will ruin everything," Kate countered.

"As your friend," Jane began delicately, "I sympathize. But as the SAC of NCIS, I'm asking you to do this because this mission is important and right now you and Lucy are the only ones that can do it. We don't have another alternative."

"You're telling me to suck it up and do my job?" Kate asked dryly.

"Something like that," Jane agreed. "You can still back out if you want."

"But you'll be disappointed," Kate pointed out.

"Not disappointed," Jane clarified. "But I think you'll be letting yourself down if you let this thing with Lucy interfere with your job. I know how hard you've worked to get where you are. Don't let this ruin it."

Kate nodded. "Fine. But today was my day off. I want some time after this."

"I'll talk to your boss," Jane agreed. "You and Lucy both should have some time coming."

"Thank you," Kate said. She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Do you really think we can do this?"

Jane rose and straightened her jacket. "I wouldn't be letting both of you out in the field, if I didn't have every confidence in your abilities."

"Okay, I think that's everything," Lucy said, looking between Jesse and Kai. "Did we forget anything?"

"I don't think so," Jesse said. "Ernie's been busy. We've got IDs and credit cards for Whistler and a whole background set up for her. All we need now is to get the two of you back to 'your' apartment unseen and we'll be ready to do this." Jesse turned to look at Kai. "Have we heard any more from our suspects?"

"Not so far," Kai said, holding up the burner phone Lucy had been given. He'd been monitoring it while she and Jesse had planned and collected resources. "I think you'll be good for the rest of the night but you need to keep playing your parts just in case."

"Got it," Lucy said a little more tersely than she had meant to. "I mean that's all, right? Just pretend to be Whistler's girlfriend for four days. It's not like she-." Lucy bit her words off and stopped herself. "Never mind."

Kai and Jesse exchanged a glance and then Jesse took a step forward as Kai bent to pretend to look at something on his desk.

"Are you alright, Luce?" Jesse asked slowly. "If we need to find another way to do this mission…"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "It's too important and I need to do this. After my first undercover mission. If I screw this one up too, then Tennant will never trust me with another one."

"That's not fair," Jesse said. "And you know it. She's just looking out for the agents under her command."

"I know," Lucy admitted reluctantly. "But I'm going to do this." She flashed Jesse a smile. "And I've got the best backup an agent could ask for."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Luce," Jesse warned her but he was smiling again when he said it. "Go get Whistler. Let's get this show on the road."

(2/12)