Chapter 2

Kate had dozed off somewhere between Rochester and Buffalo, her body leaned upright against the wall of the train car and her knees curled up at her side. The interior lights had been dimmed and the gentle chatter amongst the other passengers around them had subsided, and Rick sat with his notebook open, pen in hand, trying to capture the moment in the best way he knew how, with words.

He carried it with him always, its cover of burgundy leather marvelously worn from nearly two decades of use, a treasured gift from his mother upon his graduation from college. It was for him what film was for a photographer, a silent chronicle of moments, his eye into worlds both true and mythical, and a piece of Kate now appeared there for the first time. He'd always been blessed with a laudable imagination, and he rarely needed for inspiration, but he couldn't help but think there was something different, something special about the new character that'd crossed his path.

Without indication as to why, the train suddenly began to slow, and with the sound of its horn, Kate stirred awake. "What time is it?" she asked with an inadvertent squeak in her voice. "Are we stopping?"

"It's not Chicago o'clock yet, unfortunately, but we're definitely stopping for some reason. You're still stuck with me in this metal box for a while longer, I'm afraid," Rick teased, capping his pen.

"Plus my cookie's gone," she replied with a much needed stretch of her muscles. "This really isn't my day."

"Well, since it is after midnight and technically tomorrow," he said, looking down at his watch, "maybe your rotten luck will turn around."

Just then, the door nearest them opened and a conductor stepped into the car, their motion having entirely halted. "Sorry, folks," the man announced, "but, apparently, there's some debris across the track ahead, so it's going to be a few minutes while that situation is resolved. Just sit tight and we'll be on our way again as soon as we can."

"You were saying something about my luck turning around?" Kate said as the conductor moved on down the aisle.

Rick could only shrug. "Guess I'm just an optimist, counselor, always looking for that happy ending." He flipped his notebook shut and tucked it back into his bag.

"Was that…Were you working on something? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you," she said in unsolicited apology.

"No, please, you didn't," he assured her. "I always have this thing out. I'm constantly scribbling down observations and thoughts and character stuff wherever I go. Life happens all around us all the time, right?"

"I like that," Kate said, charmed by the practice. "You probably could've set the couch on fire next to my ex and he wouldn't have noticed." She exhaled a soft chuckle and then realized what she'd said - another comparison she hadn't intended on making, and certainly not voicing.

Rick felt his pulse quicken with premature excitement. "An ex? As in not current?" he asked, sounding positively doltish.

"No, not current," Kate replied demurely. "So not current, in fact, that I'm on this train headed for his wedding. His fiancée is from Chicago, in an ironic life twist."

Rick's eyebrows crept upward with surprise. "Wow, that's healthy. You're still friends? I'm impressed. The only thing I managed to keep after my divorce was my dog."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure friends are exactly what I'd call us. Honestly, I was really surprised when the invitation showed up, and even more surprised that I agreed to go." She picked intently on a loose string at the hem of her jeans. "I bet that hypothetical therapist of yours might have a thing or two to say about that, too."

She rubbed at her eyes, so he hesitated in taking it further. "You're tired. I should let you sleep," he said.

"It's okay. I'm fine, really. I find I don't need a whole lot of sleep, these days," she said. "Years of practice, I guess - occupational hazard."

Rick nodded knowingly. "Me neither," he concurred, "but, sadly, I don't have a badass excuse like making the world a safer place like you do. I just have a brain that wants to play all the time."

Kate smiled, feeling instantly smitten with the notion. "We're quite a pair, then. Looks like you picked the right seat."

"Yeah," was all he replied, his brain screaming far more. "The two of you weren't, though? A good pair, I mean."

She and Will met at school in New York, he a year beyond her and stunningly wild. Unlikely from the start was what they were, yet somehow that only served to fuel the fire, and for two years they were nearly inseparable. The problem, or one of them, was that that connection created expectation, and expectation at a time when the world was all about possibility, became too heavy a burden. She knew exactly what she wanted, he only what he didn't, and they limped through the following year in a dance around the inevitable. By the time she told him she wanted to leave the NYPD for law school in Chicago, he already had one foot out the door.

"We weren't anything I ever imagined," Kate said, memories floating across her mind, "and I think I pretended for a long time that would always be a good thing, but, of course, on the other side of imagination lives reality, so…God, I have no idea why I'm telling you all of this," she mumbled in whisper.

One more second, just one more, and Rick would've pushed himself from his seat, crossed the small divide between them and kissed her silly, but like the ruthless buzz of an alarm clock at the height of a brilliant dream, the train began to move again, holding him firmly in his spot. "It's not as easy to write reality," he said, imagining the feel her lips against his. "That's why I stick to fiction. And, for what it's worth, whatever the reason is, besides my staggering charm, of course, I'm flattered you're telling me all of this. I know we've just met and I could be wrong, but you don't strike me as someone who opens up a lot."

"No," she confirmed, his astute read of her unexpected yet somehow not unnerving. "So, maybe one day soon I'll be strolling past a bookshop and see a copy of yours in the window," she said. "What's it about, anyway? I mean, I'll need to know so I can decide whether or not I'll actually want to go in and buy a copy."

He crooked his eyebrow with feigned incredulity. "Well, let's see, it's about a man and his wickedly sarcastic travel companion on an unexpected journey together. And before you say anything, if, for some reason, you need more juicy tidbits than that, this beautiful, fascinating travel companion has a thing for gigantic cookies. It's a real page-turner, I'm telling you."

"I see," Kate said with a grin. "And how does it end?"

"Wow, that wasn't enough to whet your appetite? You're a tough sell. I'm actually still working on the ending," he said. "Maybe between here and there I'll come up with something to win you over." She tried to stifle a yawn but couldn't hold it back. "In the meantime, go back to sleep. Let the wordsmith work in peace, would ya? I only have a few hours left to get this brilliance out."

"Who am I to stand in the way of your process," she said in jest. "Wake me when we get to Wrigley."

"I'll do that," he said, and he watched as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

xxxx

"I'm impressed," Rick told her, returning from a brief stretch of his legs to find Kate awake and surprisingly alert in the light of morning. "You actually managed to sleep in that seat and you barely moved."

She tilted her head to the side and grimaced. "And now I have a knot in my neck the size of Texas." She squeezed at the muscle with her hand, attempted to loosen it up. "I'm not really sure it was worth it, though I did have a dream about my mom and that doesn't happen often. Note to self," she said with a wince, "book a sleep car next time."

"Absolutely. I did," he said absent forethought.

"You did? For this trip? But, you…why didn't you use it?"

He nodded as though not at all surprised, as though his too-quick mouth had gotten him into trouble before. "Busted," he whispered. "I suppose I'll give you the honest answer because, though I am a writer, I, myself, didn't sleep and, therefore, will not be able to come up with a convincing cover story on the fly. The truth is I wanted to spend more time with you, and inviting you back to my cabin seemed less than gentlemanly."

The images began invading instantly and she couldn't stop them, striking like a finger plucking a string and leaving her momentarily speechless in their barrage. His effect on her was palpable and profound, and it was everything she could do not to let it show, not to let it swallow her whole. "That's very sweet," she said in an understatement almost laughable. "I suppose I owe you an apology for zonking out, then."

"Actually, I made a bit of progress on that whole story ending thing we talked about earlier, so it worked out okay."

"Well, then, you're welcome," Kate teased, glancing out the window to find a view of the skyline she knew and loved. "It never gets old, does it?" she said, taking it in.

Rick watched her in her relish of the city and he knew what had to be. There was no question, there was no maybe, there was no later. "I don't want this to end," he blurted. She turned and their eyes met. "I can't have just one day with you, Kate, and I'm sorry if that sounds intense after such a short amount of time, but I don't know how else to say it."

The final arrival announcement into Union Station sputtered from the speakers above them, but neither moved an inch as their fellow travelers began to shuffle around them.

Kate swallowed hard, both stirred and surprised. "It doesn't, actually," she confessed, finding unexpected power over her fear. "I don't know why, but it doesn't."

"So, what do we do? Do we...Can I see you? Can I see you here? I know you have your thing and I have mine, but I don't care when it is. I'll make it work."

The vehemence in his voice made her want it all the more. The sound of genuine hope radiated from his words and pulled her in deeper. "Dinner? Tonight?" she said, the day barely begun but wishing it was already over.

"Dinner tonight."

"I'm staying at The Loews on Park. Come meet me at 8PM?" she said, pushing out of her seat as the train came to a stop.

Rick remained still as she stepped out into the aisle and pulled her suitcase from overhead. "I loved every minute of this," he told her. "Thank you for letting me share it with you."

Kate let go of the handle of her bag and leaned in, bracing herself against the armrest of his seat. She kissed him gently on the lips and pulled back. "Tonight," she said and she moved for the door.