Kate knew that Lucy was upset about Ernie being taken, but when she snapped at her with the question, 'What are you doing?', Kate tried to be friendly about it and said, 'Just trying to be supportive'. Lucy had snapped at her again, 'Well, stop. It's weird.' Kate had hoped that they would be able to work together and now she knew that it wasn't going to work. She just backed away and let silence fill the elevator. Kate followed Lucy out of the elevator and found Jane waiting for them. Jane had the information that she knew where Ernie was and who he had been taken by. Hank Braddock, an agent for the FBI, had sent agents to grab Ernie was well as other hackers in order to find the culprit and quickly. Braddock's attitude toward grabbing the people he had had made not only Jane angry but also Kate and she had filed a report of what he had done to her boss and Jane had made a report of her own.
Jane had watched as Braddock had snapped at Kate at one point for her inability to keep her emotions out of the case and the team had watched it too; Kate adjusted her jacket and crossed her arms in front of herself. They all had noticed that when Kate felt uncomfortable or was being confronted about something, she did the same motion, as if to protect herself. Jane and the team didn't know what had caused Kate's habit, but they feared it might because she was hurt, whether that be emotionally or physically. Lucy had noticed the habit first and she hadn't really thought much about it, but as she watched Braddock berate Kate for trusting them and not him, she thought about all the times that she saw Kate do that with not only the team, but with her.
"Do your job better, or I'll have you reassigned. You got it?" Braddock said.
Kate was looking at the ground and her arms were still crossed in front of her; she realized that he was expecting an answer and said, "Yes, sir." She didn't look up as Braddock walked away to handle another agent, who asked him a question.
Once he had walked far enough away from her, Kate finally took a deep breath and let it out. Jane and the team had wanted to say something to her, but she had quickly turned and moved away from them and the situation, her shoulders sagging a little as she got back to work. The team all looked to each other wondering if one of them should say something, but Jane gave them all a look of, 'Go back to work. I'll talk to her.' And they did as she expressed.
Jane walked over to Kate, who was getting ready to go check the dam with another agent, and said, "Hey Whistler."
"Yes, Special Agent Tennant?" Kate answered wondering what Jane wanted to talk to her about, hoping in the back of her mind that it wasn't about what had happened between her and Braddock.
"Are you okay?"
"Of course. I'm fine.", Kate said but she could see that Jane didn't think she was fine and added, "Don't worry about me. I used to it. It's not like I was treated much differently when I was working with the DIA. I just hoped it would change a little when I moved to FBI." Kate winced as she realized all that she had said. "I'm fine."
"You are a great agent, Kate. You've proven that to me over and over. I'm sorry that those before didn't see it. If you ever want to talk, I'm here." Jane said giving Kate a mothering look.
"Thanks, but I think I've said too much as it is. We're going to go check some of the dam." Kate said motioning to another agent.
"Okay. Do you mind if I send Kai with you?"
"No that's fine. It would probably be a good idea."
"Kai." Jane said after she had turned toward where Kai was standing with Ernie.
"Yes, Ma'am." Kai said.
"Go with Agent Whistler and Agent Andrews."
"Okay."
Agent Andrews, Kate, and Kai all headed toward the dam to check a few things out and make sure that there were no issues with the hardware.
Jane went to check in with Jesse, Lucy, and Ernie, who had been working together on figuring out what exactly might need to be done to stop the hacker from hurting anymore people or the destruction of the dam. Ernie and the other hackers were able to finally get into the feed almost half an hour after Agent Andrews, Kate, and Kai were going around. They were only two hours away from the deadline, but Ernie and the other hackers were making progress when alarms started to go off.
"Ernie, what is going on?" Jane asked as she and the other leaders came over to see what was happening.
"The hacker who has control is opening one of the valves to let water through." Ernie answered.
"Where?" Jane asked and everyone waited for Ernie to answer.
"I'm looking…Oh God…It's where Andrews, Whistler, and Kai are right now."
Jane pulled her cell after realizing that Andrews, Kate, and Kai hadn't taken a radio with them, hoping that Kai would answer right away; on the screen, they could see Kate was reacting to something and then yelled something to Andrews and Kai; they all took off back down the tunnel toward where they had entered to get out of the area of whatever was coming their way. Andrews had been the first out and up the stairs that led to safety, Kai was close by as was Kate. But the water from the dam was moving too fast for Kai to full make it up the stairs, but he was rammed into the railing and Kate was nearly taken away with the rushing water, but she had grabbed the railing with both arms, one arm had a better grip, but the other had lost its grip. The one that had lost its grip was dislocated by the force of the water trying to sweep her away with it. Jane, Jesse, and Lucy took off immediately to help them; hoping to get to them before anything else happened.
Lucy's mind was racing as she was racing to get to Kai and Kate; she thought about everything that had happened between them and how if something bad really happened to Kate she wouldn't be able to handle it. Yes, she had been hurt and angry, but she truthfully missed Kate. She wanted to be able to see where things would lead with Kate, she wanted Kate back. She might not have been ready to admit it before, but running to Kate, she knew that she missed her, she wanted her.
Andrews was able to help Kai get back on his feet, after grabbing hold of him, and pulling him out of the water; they both turned to see Kate struggling to hold on with her uninjured arm and stay above the water.
"Whistler!" Kai called as he tried to reach for her without getting back into the sweeping water. "Hold on."
"Kai, Kate!" Jane called as she, Jesse, and Lucy ran over to them.
Lucy could see Kate struggling to stay above the water as it swept over her, she could tell that she was hurting and then she heard Kai say, 'I can't reach her without getting in the water. She can't hold on much longer.'
"Ernie, can you get the water turned off?" Jane said into the radio that she had remembered to grab before taking off to get here.
"We're trying but it is not going well. You need to find something to reach her, if we can't get this done in time." Ernie responded.
"Kai, don't!" Jane grabbed him to keep him from jumping in.
"She's not going to be able to swim. Her arm was dislocated when she had to grab the railing. She was already struggling, Tennant. I can swim. I've swam in worse than this." Kai said pulling his arm from Jane and headed into the water holding onto the railing.
"Kate!" Jane yelled just as Kai was about to grab Kate's arm, her one hand that had been able to grip the railing lost its grip and she was forced under and swept away with the water.
"Kate!" Lucy screamed as her heart caught in her throat watching Kate get swept away.
Kai immediately dove into the water to try and catch up to Kate, he could see that she was struggling and knew that she wasn't going to be able to stay above the water with one arm and the pain.
"Ernie, please tell me you've almost got it." Jane said into the radio as she, Jesse, Lucy, and Andrews tried to follow them down the canal.
"Almost. We almost have full control." Ernie replied.
Kai swam toward where he had last seen Kate pop up, she had been trying to stay up above the water, but she had disappeared a few seconds ago. Jane, Jesse, Lucy, and Andrews had been running along the side the flow way in hopes that they would be able to get to a point that they would be able to get Kai and Kate out of the water.
"Kai six feet to your left." Jesse called out as he pointed toward where he had spotted Kate, who wasn't swimming anymore, but was unconscious.
Ernie's voice came over the radio, "We got it. We are closing the valve. It will take a few more seconds for you to see the difference."
At was a few seconds later that you were able to see the water slow and start to lower; Kai was able to see where Kate was and swam over to her, lifting her head above the water. The water finally lowered to where Kai could stand in it with good footing, and he held Kate in his arms.
"Kai!" Jane called as she reached down with Jesse to grab Kate from him.
"Be careful of her arm." Kai said as he lifted Kate up for Jane and Jesse to grab her.
Once they got Kate on solid ground, Jesse pulled Kai out with the help of Andrews, Jane on the other hand felt for a pulse on Kate. She felt one though it was not as pronounce as it should have been, but it was clear that Kate wasn't breathing. Lucy was by Kate's side with Jane; Jane started CPR. Jesse, Kai, and Andrews joined them.
"Come on Kate. Breathe." Jane said as she continued CPR.
"Please Kate." Lucy cried softly holding on tight to Kate's hand on her uninjured arm. "Please. Please, come back. Please, Kate."
"Breathe Kate. Come on. You need to breathe." Jane said as she gave two breaths, then went back to compressions. "Come on."
It took a few more rounds of it but Kate finally coughed up water and it seems like it was a never-ending amount of water from Lucy's perspective. Kate whimpered a little in pain when her arm was jostled by her coughing up the water. Jane, Lucy, Jesse, and Kai all sighed at Kate finally breathing; she might not have been fully aware of her surroundings, but she squeezed Lucy's hand and Lucy leaned down and put her forehead against Kate's for a moment before placing a kiss on Kate's forehead. Lucy ran her hand through Kate's hair and continued to hold on to her hand.
"It's okay. You're going to be okay." Lucy repeated over and over to Kate, but it was more like a reminder to herself that Kate was going to be okay.
"Tennant. Is she okay? Is Kate, okay? An ambulance is on the way." Ernie's voice was heard asking over the radio.
"She's alive." Jane answered.
"We have full control of the dam and have a location for the hacker. Braddock and several other agents have gone to deal with him."
The team and Andrews all sighed at the thought that today's chaos was over and that they would be picking up the hacker, putting him in jail for killing the Petty Officer, the cyber-attack, and nearly killing Kate and Kai.
"I'm going to meet up with Braddock. Will you let me know how Whistler is doing when she's checked out at the hospital." Andrews said as he left to meet up with Braddock and the other FBI agents.
"Will do." Jesse answered as the ambulance pulled up and the EMTs rushed to them.
It was later that day, Kate had been released from the hospital, Jane had driven her back to NCIS as she had wanted to finish up her paperwork with them and not at the FBI headquarters. As Jane and Kate walked in, Lucy had stood and walked around her desk. Kate had looked hesitant to move toward her, but she it anyway because all she wanted was to be closer to Lucy and if Lucy was moving toward her and not bolting in the other direction it was a good sign.
"Hey." Lucy said as she approached Kate.
"Hi." Kate said back.
"I'm going to be in my office. Let me know when you're ready to go." Jane said to Kate and Kate nodded in reply. Lucy had a look of question and Jane added, "They want Kate to stay with someone to keep an eye on her overnight. She took on a lot of water."
"Right." Lucy said softly looking to Kate, she was looking for any indication that she should still be in the hospital.
"I'm okay. Just in a bit of pain." Kate said lifting her arm in the sling at the mention of pain.
"Can we talk?" Lucy asked softly.
"Are you sure?" Kate asked the hesitation to have this conversation clear in her expression and voice.
"Yes."
"Okay."
"Let's sit down."
Lucy walked back around her desk and Kate followed her; Lucy pulled a spare nearby chair over for Kate to sit down and then sat down.
"I wanted to apologize for snapping at you. I know that you were only trying to help." Lucy said.
"It's fine Luce. I'm used to it. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who should be apologizing." Kate said and before Lucy could interrupted her, Kate continued, "I'm sorry for making you think that you were a side piece and not telling you about Cara." Lucy went to stop Kate, but Kate didn't let her. "Please just let me say this." Lucy nodded. "I know that I should have officially broken off whatever Cara and I were before moving here, but we weren't really anything. We both were too focused on our careers and our relationship always came second. As you know I'm not very good at expressing myself and it's always been that way. Since I was a kid the only one who was able to help me was Noah. And when he died…Lucy I lost everything. I never felt as safe as I did with him, to be able to express myself without feeling like I was doing it wrong, to be able to know what love felt like. I know my parents loved us, but I never felt like I was good enough. It's why I push myself so hard at work. Trying to prove that I am. You were the first person since he died that I told stories about him, that I tried to express myself with, that I fell in love with. And that was scary for me, Luce. I know that you and your team see me as the 'mean girl', 'the ice queen'. But it's because I don't know how to express myself and I've tried to do it with you, but it was hard, one of the hardest things I've ever done. I let myself love you. And Noah was the only person that I have ever really felt that with. Being with you and trying to feel what I feel with you makes me feel like I am drowning Lucy. Because I don't know how to handle it. But I do know that I am in love with you." Kate was crying by the end of her speech, and she wasn't look toward Lucy, afraid of what she would see if she looked at her.
"Kate." Lucy said and Kate knew what she wanted, so she slowly looked up to see the tears in Lucy's eyes as well. "I was hurt and angry. I thought that you hadn't fallen like I had. I know how hard you have been trying to open up, to show your emotions. And I am sorry that we've treated you the way that we have. That I treated you the way I have. When I brought Noah up, when you told me stories about him, I didn't know that you never talked about him. You would get this look when you talked about him, a look that I know I've seen you look at me with, even though I didn't see it then. You loved him and you love me. I see that now. You might not say it, but you show it in your actions. I know that I said that you were no longer a bet I was willing to take, it was after I had almost died and I was hurt and angry, but the truth is you are. It's why the last couple weeks I have been snapping at you, trying to not miss you and not still want to be with you. If you are willing, I would really like to try again. We do need to communicate more though, so that things like this don't happen again." Lucy said she had moved closer to Kate during her speech and at the end took Kate's hands in hers.
"I would love that, and I agree that we need to communicate more."
Lucy stood and moved closer to Kate, leaning in Lucy kissed Kate softly before pulling away and saying, "Come on, I'm going to take you home."
"Are you sure?" Kate asked, Lucy could hear the hesitation still in her voice.
"Yes, Kate. I am sure. Come on. Let's go tell Tennant."
Kate stood slowly; it was clear she was hurting a bit more. Lucy and Kate walked to Jane's office and let her know that Lucy was going to take Kate home. Jane nodded with a smirk and told them that she would see them over the weekend for the team dinner. Lucy had smiled at Jane's including Kate in the dinner, though she could see Kate's fear about going. Lucy planned on talking with Kate later about it, but for tonight she was going to take her home and take care of her like she had taken care of her after the fight she had. They both knew how they felt about each other, and they were going to work on communicating better.