Chapter 7

Hank couldn't listen to her. He paced up and down the street in front of the district, livid at the girl… no , woman, he had come to think of as his daughter . He had saved her from that life, why would she even think about going back to it ? He realized he hadn't done as well at keeping tabs on her as he did Erin. After Kat moved out she disappeared off his radar, where Erin came to work for Intelligence. Hank decided to give her a chance to fully explain, but right now he needed to take a walk.

Meanwhile , Kat was sitting, with head in her hands, unsure what to do. She wanted to go after Hank, explain everything . His team seemed to think it would be best to let him cool off , but this man was everything to her. She was afraid the longer he stewed the worse it would be. She felt Jay pat her good shoulder , and she jumped. She forgot he had been sitting with her.

"You wanna tell me the story? It might help to get it out. No judgement." He held out his hand and she took it.

"It started when I left mom and dad's house… Hank and Camille. I moved to Wisconsin, went to college. Needed to get away from Chicago, so I went to the polar opposite town."

"Where?" Jay looked at her curious. His family had a cabin in Northern Wisconsin, and it definitely was the opposite of Chicago.

"Green Bay."

He laughed . "You know we are rivals then right ?" he was trying to lighten the mood and it worked for a minute.

She smiled "Yeah, I know. But the town was amazing. So were the people. I graduated college, spent time in nature… I know Chicago winters are rough, but you should see how magical they are up north. I could have lived there for the rest of my life. I probably should have. "

He decided to keep the cabin out of the conversation for now. "So why didn't you?"

She took a deep breath "I heard about Camille. I didn't even let Hank know I was back, but I was there at the funeral . Erin saw me, but she didn't pressure me into sitting with them. They were their own family unit, and I didn't fit anymore . Leaving the funeral I was in an accident, and laid up for a few months. Nothing horribly serious, but I did a number to my back. Which led me to get on pain killers… "

He didn't push, he just squeezed her hand and made circles with his thumb on her knuckles until she continued.

"I'm sure you've heard this old tale a million times. Girl gets hurt. Girl gets hooked on pain killers. Girl can't shake loose from said addiction. I met up with our old dealer Ken. He knew I needed money, so he "Hired" me to run his street deals. Except it got so bad one time I didn't sell the product for him, I stole it. " She looked towards Jay but couldn't meet his eyes. She continued "He found me , I didn't think… I was extremely messed up. He came and forced his way into my house, demanding his product back. When I told him I had taken it, he got… we will use the words extremely angry. " She let go of Jays hand and raised her shirt to show Jay the ugly scar she had on her chest. "This? Is a thank you present from him."

Jay gasped "He did that to you? Stabbed you?? Kat my god you should be dead!"

She lowered her shirt and nodded her head. "I know."

"Why didn't you tell Hank? He could have stopped this guy a long time ago!" he could hear his voice raising. He tried to take a breath and calm down but this girl had been through too much. It was eating at him.

"I tried. I tried calling him multiple times over the last few years, I just couldn't do it. I knew he would be disappointed in me. What if he turned me away ? I couldn't handle losing him, I already lost Camille." Tears started to fall on her cheeks. "Jay I should just go back to Wisconsin. I should have never come back to Chicago. I disrupted his life, Antonio's… I should just go." She stood and started to walk out the door when Jay grabbed her hand and stood in front of her, his blue eyes staring into hers.

"Kat listen. Antonio is an idiot. I love the guy but if he can't see how great you are that's his loss. There would be a line around the block of guys that would be ecstatic to date you, myself included. Besides, you can't leave, you promised to be my date to Will and Nats wedding in a few weeks." He flashed a grin at her "Don't make me go alone, I'll look sad, like I can't find a date. " He reached up and wiped the tears off her cheeks, the pad of his thumb gently running across them.

His teasing worked. "Okay Jay, I'll stay." She smiled and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her. That was until the door of the office swung open and Hank filled the door frame. The two jumped apart like they were caught red handed, even though they weren't doing anything wrong.

"Hank. " They said at the same time. "You're back."

"It is my office. Jay don't you have work to do? I need to talk to Katherin."

He dropped her hands and nodded at Hank, catching her eyes one last time before leaving the office and shutting the door behind him.

Hank came in and sat down behind his desk. Kat could tell he was still mad, but some if the anger had disappeared. She sat down across from him, ready for the firing squad. Instead he just said "Take me through everything . "

Bullpen

Jay came out of the office and immediately was approached by most of the team.

"So what's the real story. She tell you?" Adam hadn't trusted her completely since she walked in. He could sense something was wrong, but just didn't know what.

"Yeah, and it's her story to tell. But I'll say this, we HAVE to get this guy. Bottom line, he's a bad dude. The sooner he's off the streets the better. Oh, Tonio, can I talk to you for a second?"

Antonio had keeping his head down, checking the plate number and running through databases to find a current picture of this Kenneth Bowman. He knew Jay had been in the office with Kat, but he couldn't imagine what had been talked about . He nodded and they walked to the break room.

Jay started "Antonio , get your head out of your ass." The two men had been friends for a long time, and Jay wasn't beating around the bush. "This girl is a rockstar. She's been through more shit than you and so combined. She likes you. I know you made a move the other night at Molly's, so why are you freezing her out now?"

"She doesn't need me. She's got plenty of other people to lean on. Besides, I got distracted because of her, and she got shot in the process. I'm not doing anyone any good if she is with me. So, you want her? Go for it." Antonio was the elder of the two, and didn't feel like being reprimanded by someone younger. "I have a job to do." And he began to walk off.

"Tonio." Jay called out to him, but it was too late. He walked back and sat at his desk, not meeting anyone else's eyes.

Jay shook his head. Fine, if that's how he wanted it. Jay wasn't about to let Kat go through everything by herself. If Antonio wanted to play the stubborn ass, then Jay was happy to change spots with him and be there for Kat.

In Hanks office Kat had finally explained everything to him. How she had been away, where she was, when she got back and how sorry she was for not telling him sooner. He stood up and pulled her into a warm hug. He could feel her hesitate, but then she relaxed. They pulled apart and he kissed her forehead. "My team will get this guy. I promise you that. "

She knew he was right. The man could scare the worst criminals, she had no doubt that he would get the man that had been terrorizing her for so many years. She regretted not being open and honest when she first got to the district. Hank acted like he understood, but she was mad at herself for letting it go on this long . She vowed to do anything she could to find the guy.