A/N) Eve's going to hopefully be back for Series 3. Yay! And I finally got around to writing some more of this. Yay!
Kindness
There's a hissed intake of breath as Nick passes the door of Katherine's office, swinging slightly ajar. Naturally, being a curious type and a scientist to boot, Nick pokes his head through the doorway, curious as to what he's just heard. Therefore, he just catches a glimpse of Katherine grimacing, apparently in pain, as she presses one hand to her waist. "Katherine?" he asks automatically, giving himself away.
"Hmm?" Katherine turns, a fraction of pain in her expression before she straightens it out, turns it into her customary narrowed-eye frown that she directs at him. "Did you want something?" she demands.
"You okay?" the scientist wants to know. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replies shortly. "Don't you have work to do?" Case closed. As usual.
He's not falling for it this time. "There is something. You were wincing." At her vehement shake of the head, denying it, Nick throws her a pointed look. "I'm not stupid, Katherine. What's wrong?"
"I don't need your kindness, Nick," Katherine informs him sharply. Her hand is still pressed to her side, though, and Nick moves closer across the room almost without realising his movement. Katherine realises her mistake and drops her palm from the spot creasing her blazer, trying to look innocent.
"Tell me," Nick insists.
The woman rolls her eyes, evidently annoyed at his persistence; she pulls awkwardly at her collar as some sort of delaying tactic that doesn't fool Nick in the slightest. "It's nothing. Just from where the –" Katherine hesitates, almost spitting the words out as she completes the sentence. "Where the - spiderbot electrocuted me, when Mary was controlling it."
"Oh." It's all he can say. Nick remembers that day very well. He remembers the fear in his usually aloof superior's eyes, when she uncharacteristically appealed to him for help, and he just walked away. Nick hadn't even considered the fact that Katherine had been injured by Mary's spiderbot in the attack. At the time he had just assumed it had been a scaremonger's tactic, like most of Mary's threats, to frighten Katherine into submission. Of course, he was fully justified to ignore his colleague's pleas at that point; she had been trying to take Eve apart, and they hadn't seen Mary for what she really was yet. Anyway, Katherine had never spoken about that moment again, and Nick had gratefully seconded that.
Katherine coughs, remembering herself. "As I said, it's nothing," she dismisses, her frown deepening as she glares at Nick. "Get back to work."
"Does it still hurt?" Nick asks softly, ignoring the command.
In response, Katherine simply lifts the rim of her light blue shirt slightly, revealing a scar at her slim waistline that Nick recognises - from his limited medical knowledge required to bring up a boy - as a burn. "The doctor says a third degree burn takes a while to heal. It's still healing," she explains vaguely, dropping the material and concealing the injury again.
"I'm sorry," Nick says, aware that his apology is around three months too late.
Katherine neatly avoids his eyes. "It's not your fault," she mutters, turning away and clearly indicating the conversation is closed as she stares distantly at her desk.
It is his fault, of course, but Nick can only smile wanly at his superior and head back to his own desk, guilt pooling in the bottom of his stomach as he slips heavily into the padded cushion of his chair, not wanting to look back up at where Katherine sits alone in her office for fear the feeling of responsibility intensifies.