She feels his fingers circle the scar between her breasts and she shivers awake at the touch. She knows that touch, knows the fingers sending electricity into her veins, her heart. Kate carefully squints through her eyelids to look at her husband. Rick is more focused than she's seen him during nights when insomnia occurred. She opens her eyes more to show him she's awake too, but his eyes are stuck on the scar between her breasts. What's he thinking about? She squirms a bit, suddenly wondering if her choice of going to bed without pyjamas had been a bad idea last night. She's never found him staring at her scar quite like he is right now.

"What's wrong?" she mumbles sleepily and his eyes meet hers, widening.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," he apologizes before looking down in...shame?

"'S okay."

"No," he shakes his head, making her wrinkles go deeper. "I know how much you hate when I wake you up without reason."

She bites her lip, regretting all the times she's cursed him out loud. "Not when something's clearly bothering you," she tries to keep her voice sooth, knows there's no need to have a stern interrogating voice with him. Not when it's something like this. His fingers are still at her scar and so she gently takes his hand within hers, her thumb lightly rubbing the backside of his hand. "Tell me," she whispers encouragingly.

"Do you ever think about the fact that…" he begins and when he doesn't elaborate she brings his hand up to kiss it. "...if we'd never met you wouldn't have been shot."

Kate feels her heart skip a beat as she thinks of his question. Observing his blue eyes she sees something that looks like regret which turns her insides. That's not the way she wants him to think.

"What do you mean?" she whispers, wanting to know exactly what his mind is telling him.

He takes a deep breath, breathes out slowly before opening his mouth. "I mean that if I hadn't forced you to accept me shadowing you then you wouldn't have gotten shot. You wouldn't have been in pain the way you were. You wouldn't have been… I've put you through so much pain, I can't help but wonder if it would've been better if we'd just… never met" he says, his eyes not leaving her scar.

"What?! No!" she's shouting and she has to hold her breath for a second or two to lower her voice. "Rick, if it weren't for you my mother's killer would've still walked around free, if it weren't for you I'd be dead many times over, if it weren't for you I'd never let anyone in."

She's cupping his cheeks, snuggling closer to him, forcing his hands to go around her body instead of staying by her scar. Now his fingers are trickling her naked back instead.

"So, you don't regret me shadowing you?" he asks and she leans closer to kiss his lips.

"I wouldn't change it for the world," she says and smiles when he does.

He kisses her lips again and pulls her closer to his body. When their lips part hers opens in a yawn and he chuckles. "I'm sorry, go back to sleep," he says and she smiles bigger at the way the worry and sadness seem to have left his eyes again.

"Only if you promise to do the same."

He nods and she snuggles up onto his chest, hearing his heart beat calmly. He whispers his love to her and she mumbles her own back as sleep overtakes them both once again.

THE END