AN: Thank you for all the feedback and responses I've already received on the story. I hope it continues to bring you some joy during the dreaded Kacy Drought of April 2022.
Chapter 2
Kate woke up to the sound of beeping and a pounding headache. She was in sensory overload as she opened her eyes and blinding light made her squeeze them shut again. Her head was throbbing and body ached as she tried to sit up. She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Lucy's soothing voice.
"You're okay, don't try to move too much," said Lucy. The moment Kate's eyes opened and were able to focus, they locked with the deep hazel eyes she could get lost in forever.
"Lucy?" She leaned into her touch when Lucy tenderly caressed her cheek. She noticed the tears in Lucy's eyes as the brunette gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"You scared the hell out of me," confessed Lucy.
"What happened? Where am I?"
"You're at the medical facility on base. Someone tried to kill you, probably Bao and Maggie. Boom Boom found an explosive device under your car. Do you remember anything?"
"I remember walking to my car. I heard something, a motorcycle maybe, and that's it."
"Do you remember anything else?"
"No." Lucy swallowed hard and slowly nodded. Kate frowned in confusion at Lucy's shift in mood as her soft gaze dissipated and she averted her eyes.
"What is it," asked Kate.
"Cara saved you."
"Wait, Cara is here," questioned Kate as she immediately sat up in bed. She winced and grabbed her ribs as pain shot through her side.
"Take it easy, you bruised your ribs pretty bad."
"Where is she," demanded Kate as she ignored her instructions and tried to get out of the bed.
"Whoa, calm down, you can see her later," said Lucy, her voice laced with a hint of jealousy. Kate decided to ignore that as well and shook her head.
"Lucy, I'm serious. Where is Cara?" Lucy sighed and crossed her arms as Kate got out of the bed.
"Interrogation." Kate held her ribs as she made her way into the hall with Lucy right behind her.
"You can't just leave. The doctor may still have tests to run."
"Watch me," called Kate over her shoulder as she pushed through the double doors. Jane spun around and frowned when she saw her.
"What the hell are you doing out of bed," asked Jane.
"You can't detain Cara."
"She's not being detained. We just have some questions for her." Lucy watched curiously as Kate stepped closer to whisper to Jane. It was the second time that day that had happened and it was starting to annoy her.
"Any answer you are looking for is highly classified," whispered Kate.
"I assumed as much, but someone just tried to kill you and she may have intel that can help us put an end to all of this."
"You don't want to do this. You have no clue what bear is being poked right now."
"Okay, what's up with all the secrets," interrupted Lucy and Kate gave Jane a pleading look. Jane sighed.
"Lucy, take Kate back to her room…"
"You can't…"
"Kate, you're no good to us if you have internal bleeding and fall out in the war room. Get looked over, make sure you're okay, and then you can get back to the case. I have already spoken to your boss and he agrees. This case needs your attention, but only if you are cleared by medical, understand?" Kate was about to protest, but Jane gave her friend a look.
"Trust me," she urged and Kate gritted her teeth in frustration as she turned back around. Lucy shook her head in disbelief.
"What do you two know that I don't and why is Kate's girlfriend on base and who was that guy from earlier?"
"Lucy, focus on one thing at a time. We need Kate on this, but only if she's okay. She took a pretty hard fall." Lucy nodded in agreement. She wanted to ask more questions, demand an answer, or even storm into that interrogation room to question Cara herself, but the feeling of dread she had when she thought Kate was in that car reminded her of a very big priority.
"I'll make sure the doctor is thorough and she listens to whatever they say," agreed Lucy.
"Thank you. I know this isn't easy for you."
"I know it isn't easy for you either. I'll worry about Kate. You worry about Maggie and Bao." Jane took in a shaky breath as Lucy headed back through the double doors. Jane felt her phone buzz in her pocket and checked it to see a message from Ernie. She did her best to calm her nerves and regain composure. Between Julie being targeted and Kate's near-death experience, she was on edge.
For Kate, it was all taking forever. She was able to get her phone back and was sending off several text messages to try to keep at bay the fire and brimstone she knew would rain down. Lucy smirked and shook her head as she watched Kate. The doctor informed them that the x-rays were negative for cracks or fractures and she didn't have signs of internal bleeding. She had a mild concussion and her ribs would need to be taped and wrapped, but she would be cleared once the nurse bandaged her up. They were waiting on the nurse and both were ready to focus on the case, but for very different reasons.
"Texting your girlfriend," asked Lucy with a sarcastic smile and Kate sighed, but winced at the action.
"She isn't my girlfriend. I'm texting my boss."
"You sure about that? What's she even doing here? Who is she…you know, this is a bit of déjà vu, me trying to talk to you and you texting on your phone? You were talking to her, right, that morning at your apartment?" Kate sent the final text message to the last person she wanted to ever speak to again and then tossed her phone down.
"Lucy, Cara and I…"
"I don't care."
"You seem like you care."
"I just want to find Bao and Maggie and make sure we're all safe."
"Okay."
"Actually, no, you need to answer me. What the hell is Cara doing here?" Kate looked down at her hands in her lap as she shook her head.
"I don't know," mumbled Kate. Lucy shook her head in disbelief as she wiped a tear from her eyes.
"You're a liar. I guess that's the third thing I learned about you today. I knew you lied in the past and had your secrets, but today, I've learned you can surf, have ridiculous accuracy with a gun, and are nothing more than a liar." Kate clenched her jaw in frustration, but was quiet. There were so many things she wanted to say in that moment, but as usual, she held back. The cold silence between them was interrupted by the nurse entering the room. Kate sat on the edge of the bed as the nurse prepared to wrap her ribs. The nurse was gentle and explained what she was doing every step of the way, but all Kate could hear was the pounding of her heart. It was everything she was afraid of coming true and there was nothing she could do about it. If Bao and Shaw's return into their lives didn't trigger it, the explosion most certainly did. Her past was coming back to haunt her and worlds were colliding, and there was nothing she could do about it. She glanced over at Lucy, who was pacing back and forth. Once the nurse was done giving her instructions about how to redress the bandages, she quickly changed into the zip-up sweater and sweatpants she was provided. Lucy glanced several times at the deep bruises forming on Kate's ribs while the nurse tended to her.
"Are you sure you should be working right now? At least go eat or something." Kate shook her head.
"I have some extra clothes in a locker I still keep on base. I'll go get dressed and meet the team in the bullpen." Lucy gave a curt nod and turned to leave. She was surprised when Kate grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her as she stood up. Lucy swallowed hard at the way Kate's eyes locked with hers. It always annoyed her how easily she could be disarmed when Kate was that close to her, hovering inches away, both yearning to be even closer. It's the reason why she did everything in her power to not be close to her at all, to not be affected so deeply by her.
"I am a liar, but all I've wanted is to keep you as far away from all of this as possible," said Kate. Lucy glanced down at her lips and Kate stepped closer to her, but Lucy quickly took a step back.
"I don't need your protection. I need honesty and you can't give me that. I'll see you in the bullpen." With that, Lucy left and Kate shook her head in frustration. She knew what was coming and felt powerless to stop it.
It didn't take Lucy long. Her mind was made up long before Kate was even cleared to be released. The moment she knew Kate was okay, her focus shifted to the other woman on her mind. She marched into the interrogation room where Jesse and Kai were standing in front of a very smug looking Cara. Lucy glared at the woman as she walked over to Jesse and Kai.
"Where's Tennant," she asked.
"Looking into something with Ernie. She's not talking," said Jesse as he nodded over to Cara.
"There's not much to say," informed Cara. She smiled when Lucy approached her.
"Are you working with Bao and Shaw," questioned Lucy and Cara leaned forward.
"What eats you up more, Lucy? That you have no clue who I am or that I saved her life and you didn't?" Lucy gritted her teeth.
"Answer the damn question!"
"I would like to see Kate now. The fact that you're here means that she's fine, but I want to see for myself. She took quite the fall. It was even a close call for me, so how about you end this little war of wills and get these things off of me. I hate handcuffs, well, unless they're being used in the bedroom." Lucy shook her head in disbelief.
"What, not your kink," Cara teased. The door opened again and Cara smiled even more when Jane approached her. Lucy, Jesse, and Kai were shocked when Jane took the handcuffs off of her and Cara sat back in her chair.
"That's better. Now, where's Kate," asked Cara and Jane smirked at her.
"You're still in my custody until I decide otherwise. You make one wrong move and…"
"Let's not make promises you know you won't be able to keep. Besides, we have two terrorists to catch, one of which your team let go. Face it, Tennant, you need me," said Cara as she stood up.
"I'll be the judge of that," said Jane.
"One of our people saved your daughter's life today and I saved Kate's. Judge away," said Cara before walking out of the interrogation room. Jane rolled her eyes, but followed the woman with her team right behind her. The walk to the bullpen was tense and spent in silence. They entered the bullpen and went into the war room. Ernie was waiting for them and Cara gave him an impressed nod.
"You're their tech nerd. You're good. Very hard to get around, which is why I'm curious who is helping Bao."
"You know who I am," asked Ernie.
"Don't take me being off your radar too hard. It's my job to be a ghost," she added and he nodded.
"Along with your friend from earlier," said Ernie.
"Okay, anyone want to tell us what's going on," asked Jesse as Kai and Lucy nodded in agreement.
"Cara and Mateo, the man who helped earlier, are CIA. We made some calls and their credentials check out, along with their training," informed Jane.
"Wait, what? Cara is CIA," questioned Lucy and Cara winked at her.
"See, we're on the same side," said Cara.
"I doubt that," grumbled Lucy.
"Let's focus. Ernie, what do we know about the explosion," said Jane. Ernie pulled up the footage from the explosion in the parking lot and rewinded it.
"At first glance, there's no sign of Whistler's car being tampered with while it was on base, but that's only because the footage was spliced together using some high-quality tech. I was only able to detect it because I use the same software. Five minutes of footage from the video feed have been deleted and replaced with duplicates."
"If the same software was used, we're talking about someone with access to intelligence agency level tech," asked Jane and he nodded in agreement.
"So an inside job," asked Jesse.
"I think so," said Ernie.
"I spoke to Sola. He had no clue Bao was released from New Zealand custody and handed back over to the Chinese," said Kai.
"It happens more often than you think. Catching a spy from a foreign government becomes a great bargaining tool. No one wants to admit to spying on another country or for it to cause a big scene. New Zealand must have gotten something too good to turn down in return," informed Jane.
"Doesn't make it right," added Kai. They all looked up when Kate entered the war room. She was wearing black jeans, a grey shirt, and her FBI jacket. Cara smiled as she looked her over and Kate approached her with her hands in her pockets. Lucy watched their every move.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," said Cara.
"What are you doing here?"
"You mean besides saving your life?" Kate's jaw clenched and she winced as she instinctively held her ribs.
"Thank you for that."
"I guess this makes us even." Kate smirked.
"Oh far from it," she assured and Cara smiled slyly.
"Still pissed I see."
"Why do I have a feeling you're about to piss me off even more?"
"Because you know me so well, I told you before you would have to make a choice."
"I already did."
"Then make another one, state secrets or the safety of your friends? And before you ask, no, you can't have both." Kate glanced over at Lucy before giving a curt nod.
"Read them in," mumbled Kate.
"Final answer," challenged Cara.
"Don't make me hurt you," warned Kate.
"You know I love to be hurt," teased Cara and Kate shook her head as she gingerly sat down beside Jane.
"You okay," whispered Jane and Kate shrugged.
"You mean besides living my worst nightmare?"
"I was talking more about almost getting blown up, but sure."
"Oh, that," said Kate with a smirk and Jane rolled her eyes at her friend.
"Yes, that." Cara walked over to the keyboard and typed in a code. She placed her thumb on the mouse pad and the room went into lockdown mode. The windows of the room tinted with gray, the doors locked, and a red light turned on as Cara pulled files up on the screen.
"About a year ago, there was a security breach of the Joint Intelligence database and classified documents were taken…"
"We already know this," interrupted Lucy.
"We suspected an inside job and multiple investigations were underway. Our jobs were to vet any agent that could be a suspect. Shaw was on a short list of agents and one of our prime suspects. She had means and motive. She was considered dangerous and elusive, so we assigned one of our best agents to the case. We knew we couldn't confront Shaw head on and decided that a more covert approach was necessary," informed Cara. Jane glanced over at Kate as her friend shifted in her seat.
"A covert approach," questioned Jesse and Cara turned to Kate.
"If feels rude of me to tell your story. Would you like to fill them in or should I," said Cara. Lucy frowned in confusion when Kate stood back up and walked over to Cara.
"You really are going out of your way to piss me off today," warned Kate in a menacing voice.
"I'm aware, but one thing still remains true," said Cara.
"And what's that," challenged Kate.
"She's still a bit scarier than you," whispered Cara before stepping aside. Kate clenched her jaw in anger as she turned to face everyone. Jane gave her a sympathetic smile and she looked down as she spoke.
"Two years ago, I was sent to track down leads on Maggie Shaw. We'd suspected her of suspicious activity for a while. I found a lead, but wasn't sure how effective it would be in drawing her out. I went back to D.C. and focused on other options. Months later, the breach happened and forced our hands. I went undercover as a DIA officer and the new liaison for your team," confessed Kate. Tears filled Lucy's eyes and Jesse and Kai's jaws dropped.
"So you're CIA," questioned Kai.
"Former CIA," corrected Kate as she stuffed her hands into her pockets.
"Jane was our closest link to Shaw. We knew there was a connection there and we were looking at an inside job. Someone else was helping Shaw cover her tracks. I was sent to make sure that someone wasn't Jane."
"So you were sent to betray us," accused Lucy and Jane quickly shook her head as Kate looked away.
"She didn't betray us. She helped us and risked her cover to do it. I had my suspicions but the Barlow case put her on my radar. When I realized who Maggie was, I asked Kate for help. I also asked her to defy direct orders and she did," explained Jane. Cara arched an eyebrow at her.
"And put her in the middle of a very messy interagency war, not exactly what I would call a friendship, but whatever," added Cara. Kate glared at Cara.
"I chose my side and I stand by that choice."
"Yeah and how's that choice working out for you?"
"You don't get to come in here and…"
"You almost were killed and for what? Them? Where were they when you were almost getting blown to pieces? You chose wrong, Kate. Lucky for you, we have your back even when they don't."
"You know nothing about us," reminded Jane and Cara smirked at her.
"Oh it's my job to know everything about you, Jane Tennant," reminded Cara and Kate stepped in between them as Jane stood up. Lucy stood up as well, but Jesse and Kai held her back.
"Look, this isn't helping. Shaw and Bao are still out there and each minute we waste fighting, they get closer to getting away with it. I was doing my job, the job I signed up for, and so were they. You're out of line, Cara. Stand down," warned Kate. Cara sat down.
"If you followed orders, there would be no line to be out of, but I digress. Continue," said Cara. Everyone else sat back down as well.
"My job was to find out if Shaw was a threat and if so, end that threat," said Kate and Lucy's eyes widened.
"You mean kill her," asked Lucy and Cara rolled her eyes at the shock evident in her eyes.
"Shaw is responsible for hundreds of deaths, if not thousands. She's not only a threat to national security, but to anyone in her way, including your boss's daughter and the woman you apparently have feelings for," argued Cara and Kate cleared her throat as she gave Cara a look.
"How about you let me do the talking? I agreed with Jane's decision and assessment of the situation. I trusted her and still do. It was the right call at the time. After that, I left the CIA and chose to join the FBI in Hawai'i instead of return to D.C.," explained Kate and Lucy frowned even more.
"That still doesn't explain what she was doing at your apartment that night. That was before the Bao case," said Lucy and Cara smiled slyly.
"Well, Kate had cut off communication and was making it clear that she was off mission. I came to remind her of her duties. I even offered her that promotion in D.C., a completely new career outside of the agency."
"What promotion," asked Lucy.
"You really can't keep your mouth shut today," said Kate as she glared at Cara and the woman smiled mischievously.
"Blame it on the adrenaline, it was a pretty big explosion," she teased.
"The promotion was nothing. It was a job I never wanted in D.C. and never planned on taking. I was over the life I had there and wanted a new path, which is why I chose to stay here," explained Kate.
"You mean you were over your mother, which I get," mumbled Cara.
"Cara," warned Kate and Jane shook her head in disbelief.
"You know, for a highly trained agent, you sure can't keep a secret," scolded Jane and Cara smirked.
"And you two can't seem to keep up. The secret was out the moment Bao targeted Kate. You have yet to see the consequences of that choice," warned Cara.
"Hold on, wait, what does Kate's mother have to do with anything? Does she work in D.C. too? Let me guess, for the CIA," teased Lucy with a laugh, but she immediately stopped when Kate averted her eyes and Cara's smile widened.
"Yahtzee…or is it bingo? I've never played bingo," said Cara. Jane was the only member of the team not stunned as Kate confessed the truth.
"She's the Director of the CIA," she admitted and Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose as Kai was speechless and Jesse let out a low whistle. Ernie raised his hand.
"Whoa, wait, no, that's not…but," he rambled as he typed furiously on the keyboard to pull up a picture of the CIA Director. His dramatic gasp made Kate roll her eyes as a picture of her mother was suddenly plastered on the large screen.
"Holy shit, I see the family resemblance. Why didn't I see the family resemblance," Ernie questioned. Kate glanced over at Lucy and could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Before Kate could speak again, Lucy was out the door. Kate glanced over at Jane, who gave her a nod. She went after Lucy as Cara sat back in her chair.
"You guys are fun. I see why she likes you, it has to be the drama of it all," said Cara and Jane crossed her arms.
"Tell us everything you know about Bao and maybe we'll overlook the fact that the State Department has been spying on our agency."
"Fair enough, I suppose we should get to work cleaning up your mess. I know where they're headed, well, at least where Shaw is. Bao probably isn't far behind. There's an old safe house she thinks the Company doesn't know about in Kapa'a." Kai frowned in confusion.
"Wait, so they made it to the islands? Wouldn't that set off all types of alarms," asked Kai.
"Exactly, which is why we think Shaw has someone working with her from one of our agencies, but we aren't sure yet. She made plenty of connections over the years. Whoever it is knows how to cover their tracks very well, get past CIA tracking software, and cyber intelligence analysts like Ernie. Everything we know is based on intel we collected in the past."
"We'll head to Kapa'a and check out the safe house. You stay here," instructed Jane.
"Sorry, but I don't follow orders from you. I have my own," said Cara.
"You're on American soil," reminded Jane.
"My job is to make sure Kate gets out of this in one piece. Forgive me for not trusting you with that job."
"Kate will stay behind too. She's good at concealing it, but I know she's too badly injured to be out in the field. You can keep an eye on her while we take down Shaw," said Jane and Cara gave a nod.
"Fine, but only because you asked so nicely," said Cara before walking out and Jesse shook his head.
"Do you trust her," he asked.
"No, but I trust Kate and I trust that Cara is here to keep her safe. The intel is good. We should look into it," said Jane as Kai, Jesse, and Ernie nodded in agreement. They didn't trust Cara, but knew they needed to put an end to whatever else Shaw and Bao may have planned.
Lucy was sitting outside on a bench trying to clear her head. She wanted to go for a drive, to have a moment away from it all, but the base was still on lockdown and the parking lot was being swept for more explosives. So much had happened and she was struggling to wrap her mind around it. She heard her more than saw her, already quite used to the way Kate shuffled her feet when she was approaching and not sure what to say. She looked down as Kate stood off to the side and kept her distance.
"I get it if you want to be left alone. I just wanted to check on you."
"I have so many questions."
"Well, I promise to answer them honestly whenever you're ready."
"Okay." Kate gave her a small smile before turning to leave.
"Were you even dating her?"
"Oh, you meant now," said Kate as she turned back around. She gingerly sat down on the bench with a wince of pain.
"Cara and I were complicated. She often teased and flirted. I didn't mind, but wanted to keep things professional. When I got back from Hawai'i, things changed for me. Being with you that weekend made me realize that maybe I needed more in my life. Maybe being able to share my life with someone would help fill that void. Cara and I tried dating, but we are very different people. I meant what I said that night you called it off. It wasn't working out with us and then we got assigned to cases across the world from each other. It made sense it would just fizzle out. I didn't expect her to just show up like that."
"But was any of it real in the first place? The first time we met, was I just someone to help you get closer to Tennant," asked Lucy as tears filled her eyes. Kate profusely shook her head.
"Lucy, I never expected you and you weren't part of the plan. When I came to Hawai'i to do recon, I had no clue who you were. I didn't need to. My focus wasn't on NCIS, it was on Jane's connection to Shaw's past. I knew she could hold key information that she might not even be aware of, like where Shaw had been. That night we met at the bar was supposed to just be a way to forget who I was and what I did for a living. I was already at a crossroads and meeting you, spending the weekend with you, reminded me that my life didn't just have to be cases and intel forever."
"I don't even know what to believe anymore," she admitted and Kate nodded her understanding.
"I know I lied to you, but I promise I gave you every part of me that I could, even the parts I tried my damnedest not to. When I started with the DIA and saw you in the bullpen, I didn't know what to do and it made sense to just steer clear of each other, but I couldn't. I tried for so long to just stay on mission, but staying away from you, not feeling everything I feel when I'm close to you, that has been the hardest part of all of this. It just got to the point where I couldn't stay away anymore."
"So what happens when you find Maggie and Bao? Are you going to finish the job? You know Jane will never let you do that."
"I have no plans of harming them. I was the one to make sure Shaw was at a secure site and protected from my mother. I also can't let Shaw hurt anyone else. I can't believe she went after Julie."
"I can't either. Actually…no, that makes no sense. Maggie wouldn't hurt Julie."
"Sending mercenaries would suggest otherwise."
"Unless she wasn't calling the shots."
"You think it's Bao, he's trying to get back in the good graces of MSS?"
"But to what end," asked Lucy as they both wracked their brains for an answer.
"Revenge," questioned Kate.
"But why go after Julie or you? He would have to know Maggie would never approve of that. No, something's not adding up. It's like the Lohan case, we're focusing on the wrong suspects."
"You think Shaw and Bao are pawns? They're foreign operatives."
"You said it yourself. Someone else is involved and I bet that person set the explosive and probably funded the mercenaries."
"It would have to be someone with high clearance on base."
"Is there anyone here who has a connection to Shaw, any connection at all," asked Lucy as her phone buzzed. She sighed when she read the text message.
"It's Tennant. I have to go. We're leaving to intercept Maggie and Bao," added Lucy.
"I'll focus on the connection on base," said Kate as they both stood up.
"Before you make a move, call us. We'll handle it."
"I got this," assured Kate as she headed back toward the bullpen.
"Kate," called Lucy and Kate stopped in her tracks when Lucy stepped in front of her. Their eyes locked and Lucy took a step closer to her. Kate swallowed hard when Lucy gently placed a hand on her injured ribs.
"You were almost killed. I haven't glossed over that."
"Neither have I and when I find the person responsible, I'm going to make sure they end up in a hole where they belong."
"I need you to be careful. Whoever it is has been steps ahead of us and I can't…even after everything, I can't lose you," confessed Lucy as tears filled her eyes. Kate's thumb caressed her cheek and Lucy leaned into her touch, placing a light kiss on her palm.
"I can't lose you either. There's something I've been trying to tell you, but I didn't know how to before. When I turned down that promotion in D.C. and left that life behind me, I wasn't just choosing this place. I chose you, Lucy. I chose a chance at being with you because even if you never look at me that way again or took a chance on us after everything I put you through, even the slimmest chance of that is worth it."
"Kate…" Before she could say more, both heard Jesse calling for her in the distance. Lucy sighed and gave her a small smile.
"Be careful, please," said Lucy and Kate nodded.
"You too." With that, Lucy jogged over to Jesse and Kate headed back inside. There was so much more that needed to be said and nothing had been resolved, but one thing was clear. The sooner they took down Bao and Shaw and figured out who was working on the inside, the sooner they could focus of them.
AN: So, what did you think? The biggest secrets are out. Kate is former CIA and her mother is the Director of the CIA. Shoutout to earplegalcodes on Twitter for coming up with the idea for the Director to be her mother instead of her father, like I have had in past fics. She also thought that Kate Drummond would be a perfect fit…and even got Drummond to agree about that on Twitter, so very cool! Also, I am curious what you think about Cara so far in this one. Writing the Cara interactions was a lot of fun. She's so chaotic. And, of course, the yearning Kate and Lucy have for each other, even when so much is stacked against them, was one of my favorite parts to write and bask in.