Chapter 4

The next morning, Kate pulled Lucy closer and buried her face into her fiancée's hair as she slowly began to register the sound of a phone buzzing. She groaned and blindly reached for the one on her nightstand as Lucy slept in her arms. She placed it to her ear as she let out a yawn.

"Whistler," she said groggily.

"Hey." Kate immediately woke up and the haziness of her sleep cleared when she recognized Jane's voice. She sat up in bed and cleared her throat as Lucy rolled over to go back to sleep.

"Tennant? Everything okay? Why are you calling at…" She wiped her eyes and glanced down at the clock on her nightstand.

"…it's six in the morning."

"Sorry, I figured you would be up. You usually are."

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but it was a very long day."

"That it was, too long. I brought donuts. Will you let me in?"

"Wait, you're here?" The doorbell echoing through the house made her hop out of bed.

"Yep." Kate cursed and hung up the phone before jogging into her closet to find some clothes. She fell asleep naked after her relaxing bath with Lucy led to some much-needed R&R in bed. She pulled on a pair of leggings and a red plaid button-up before hurrying to the front door. Jane was standing there with a box of donuts and a sheepish smile.

"I brought your favorite," she informed. Kate rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Fine, come in," she grumbled. Jane sighed in relief and followed her toward the kitchen.

"What are you doing here, Tennant?"

"It's still Jane. I'm still me, Kate, and you are still you. Just because things got heated yesterday doesn't mean that has to change." Kate smirked.

"Heated? Is that what you call Maya almost dying because we were all so blinded by our feelings for Wally that we almost let him kill her?"

"I know, okay, but I don't think he knew it was her."

"And I don't care. It doesn't change that the guy you got bailed out of jail almost killed one of my agents yesterday, an agent that was trying to help him," reminded Kate as she began to pace.

"You're right. I let my emotions get the best of me yesterday and I wasn't thinking like a special agent. I was thinking like a friend and someone who wanted to be there for Kai and his family. I told myself I had my reasons, that the ends justified the means. Seeing the desperation on Kai's face, the fear that something would happen to his dad if we didn't act right then, it made me impulsive because I never want that feeling. I never want to be someone who helps people on a regular basis, but who can't help their own family when things are at their worst. I let that blind me to the risks, the risk to Kai, to his dad, to the team, and to you and yours." Kate relaxed a bit at the words and slowly inched closer to the counter Jane was leaning against.

"What hurts is that all of you were so quick to assume I didn't consider any of you, that I just somehow forgot what it means to be 'ohana. I know that 'ohana looks out for each other and that's what we were trying to do but you just kept interfering every step of the way."

"I don't know if you know this about me, but sometimes I can be a bit obsessed with controlling every situation."

"No, you? Never," said Kate. Jane opened up the box of donuts and grabbed one before sliding it over the counter to Kate.

"But last night, as I sat at home eating a PB&J, I was given some very good advice from a twelve-year-old," admitted Jane. Kate shook with mirth.

"What did Julie say?"

"She reminded me that you're my best friend and there are going to be hard days, days that absolutely suck, but even on my worst days, none of it is worth losing our friendship over. I crossed a line yesterday. I didn't mean to, but I did because I thought I knew better, and I apologize to you and your team for what doing that almost caused. If something would've happened to Maya, I would've never forgiven myself. She's 'ohana too and because Wally was the one behind bars, it became easy to overlook that." Kate sighed and grabbed a donut before sliding it back over to Jane.

"Things definitely got out of hand yesterday from the jump. It just all felt super charged and emotional, but you know my team doesn't work like that. I know, I know, you hate the idea of going strictly by the book but…"

"It's not about me though. It's about what works for your team and for the record, I've never thought of it as them going by the book. Your team needs structure, a course of action, and consistency. Mine works better on the fly. Both approaches have been successful, so maybe it's time to do what your team does best. Back to basics, back to the start. You get the call about the murder of a crime boss. You have a suspect covered in blood and with a gun in his hand. Prints and ballistics match. Both were intoxicated. Where do you go from there?" Kate slowly nodded as she mulled her options. She took a bite of her donut before pulling out her phone.

"What are you doing?" asked Jane.

"What we were trying to do before," said Kate as she dialed a number. She paced as she waited for someone to answer.

"Zeinab, is Maya okay? How is she doing….yeah, I know it's early….sorry….yeah I need you to come in. Get Carlos too and….of course he's already working. Why should that surprise me? We'll meet him there then. I have an idea and if Maya is up for it, I think she could help, but I'll let you two make that call….alright….yeah, see you soon." Kate hung up and ate the rest of her donut.

"So, what have you decided?" asked Jane as she pushed the donut box back over to her friend. Kate smiled slyly as she grabbed another one.

"I'm going to play this like I would with any other suspect. What would I do if I walked onto that scene? I would scare the hell out of them," she informed. Jane smiled slyly as she caught on as well.

"Babe, who are you…Tennant," Lucy squeaked out as she entered the kitchen and wrapped her arms around herself. She was only wearing one of Kate's oversized hoodies and immediately blushed. Jane did as well.

"Hey Luce, I was um, just bringing an olive branch in the form of donuts."

"I'm just gonna…" Lucy started before hurrying back into her bedroom and Jane shook with mirth.

"Long day followed by a long night I see. Good to know some things never change."

"Shut it," said Kate as Jane giggled. Kate playfully glared at her before heading to her bedroom to get dressed as well. She had a case to focus on.

By the time Kate arrived at FBI Headquarters, Zeinab, Maya, and Carlos were already waiting for her by the interrogation room. Carlos handed her a file and she gulped when she saw the records he found.

"Took some time, but Kakuda's financials finally came in. I guess I should've started with Wally's though," said Carlos as she read over the file. She clenched her jaw in frustration.

"Okay, go at him hard, but not too hard. Zeinab, I'm talking to you," warned Kate and Zeinab gave a curt nod.

"Sure, I'll just pretend he didn't almost kill the love of my life yesterday," she muttered, but sighed when Maya pulled her into her arms. Kate and Carlos walked into the adjoining room to give them some privacy and wait for them to begin.

"Hey, look at me. I'm okay, my love," reminded Maya, but Zeinab shook her head.

"Hayati…."

"I know it scared you and I know it was a close call, but I am right here. Channel some of that fear you had yesterday into the interrogation, but also remember Wally is probably scared too," said Maya.

"The man almost killed you and you still try to think from his perspective. I love you, hayati."

"I love you too. Now, go scare him a bit for me, okay?" She giggled and kissed Zeinab's cheek as Zeinab smiled mischievously.

"Oh, I think I can do that," she assured with a wink before entering the interrogation room. Wally was sitting at the table with his hands cuffed as Zeinab began to circle him.

"Zeinab, hi, um, is…is Maya okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was her. I promise. I would never hurt her."

"Do you know what my specialty is Wally?" she asked as she leaned against the wall behind him. He swallowed hard and looked at her over his shoulder as he tried to face her, but his hands cuffed to the table made it difficult.

"Kai told me you are a sniper."

"Yes, but I wouldn't call that my specialty. It is certainly one, but there's a reason Maya says I'm all about precision."

"Okay, so then what is your…um…your specialty?" She slowly approached him from behind, stalking forward and yet lingering out of his peripheral.

"Close combat training. I'm very good at using very little effort to bring people to their knees."

"Look, I know what you're trying to do and I get it. I know how important Maya is to you, but you don't have to interrogate me like this. All you have to do is ask." He jumped and was startled when her hands were suddenly on his shoulders. She gave a firm squeeze.

"Oh trust me, you wouldn't want me to be the one interrogating you right now. I'm just here to enjoy the show," she whispered in his ear. He winced when she clapped him on the back and walked back around the table. Suddenly, Maya entered the room with a file and sat down in front of him while Zeinab leaned against the wall beside her. He sighed in relief.

"Maya, I'm so glad to see that you're okay."

"You're in a lot of trouble Wally, so if I were you, I would be very honest and tell us everything you know. Understand?" asked Maya.

"I promise I will, but I don't remember much about what happened," he confessed. Maya nodded as she perused the file.

"Well, you had a blood alcohol level of .24. That's law enforcement talk for being drunk off your ass. Were you drinking while we were at the restaurant that night?"

"What? No, of course not, I don't drink on the job. I closed up as usual around ten and went to Richie's."

"It's interesting to me that you're on a first-name basis with a stone-cold killer and loan shark."

"Richie and I grew up together. Times were hard and the neighborhood could be rough. We made it out, though."

"And apparently stayed in touch." Wally sighed.

"Kai didn't want me to. He always warned me about going over there, but Richie was always good to me. I know he wasn't perfect."

"No, I wouldn't exactly call a loan shark with violent tendencies perfect."

"He was my friend and he was finally getting his act together. That's why he wanted me to come by. We were celebrating."

"By getting wasted?"

"We got a bit carried away, but Richie signed a big contract to help a retail corporation that was new to the islands."

"A retail corporation?"

"That's what he said. He said he was taking a if you can't beat 'em join 'em approach because the writing was on the wall. They'd already done a few hostile takeovers of local supermarkets and were coming after the mom and pop shops. Richie knew most of the owners and they owed him big, so he was going to talk them into selling for cheap and paying off their debts in the process. He'd get paid to squeeze them out and the new stores all over the island would crush competitors."

"Sounds like a swell guy," grumbled Maya as her eyes remained trained on the file.

"Like I said, he wasn't perfect, but he was about to go legit. He was happy," he said as he looked down sadly. She sighed and tossed the file on the table.

"Okay, so what happened? You two had some drinks to celebrate his new gig in hostile takeovers and then what?"

"He said he had something to give me and I didn't think much of it, but I never would've imagined what it was."

"Which was?"

"Money, he covered the restaurant for the rest of the year and cleared my debts."

"I know. See, that also doesn't bode well for you because we were able to find that little transaction in your account. Receiving that much money from a known crime boss that you are suspected to have killed doesn't exactly look great."

"He knew the business had been struggling and transferred the money into my account. I didn't ask him to, but that was Richie. He was horrible to a lot of people, but if you were considered family? You were golden in his eyes. We grew up together and went way back. I figured he was really coming up and just wanted to help me out. Richie had his money before, but he was talking about more than he had ever made in his line of work. It was huge to him and I was happy for him."

"So you're celebrating and then what?" Wally winced and rubbed his head.

"That's all I really remember. Next thing I know, I woke up in the back of a squad car and Richie was dead."

"You know, Wally, I want to believe you. Really, I do, but there's one big hole in your memory that shouldn't be there. Why you shot at me."

"As soon as I got home, I started drinking," he admitted.

"Hold on, so you were blackout drunk the night before and woke up to your friend dead and you going down for it, you get bailed out, and the first thing you do is drink?"

"I was grieving. Richie may have been nothing more than a criminal to you, but he was a good friend to me, like a brother. He was there when Kai was born."

"Fine, so you start making poor choices all over again and then what?"

"I got a call from someone. I didn't recognize the number, but they told me I was going down for what I did to Richie." Zeinab glanced back at the mirror behind her, knowing Kate and Carlos were already about to start sifting through his call logs.

"Do you know who it was?" asked Maya. Wally shook his head.

"No, but I got scared. I tried to call Kai, but he didn't pick up, so I grabbed my gun and just waited. I don't know for how long. I heard someone trying to get into the house, heard them head to the back porch, and I just shot." Maya swallowed hard as the memory of the gun going off replayed in her mind.

"Maya, I didn't know. I thought someone was coming to kill me."

"Fine, let's say I believe you then. There may be a way to help jog your memory from that night, but you're going to have to be completely honest. It's a pretty simple technique. I guide you through a recollection and you answer me honestly as I do. Memory can depend a lot on what you focus on. For example, you may focus on events that night you think will help you understand it better, but I will focus on parts that you may have overlooked. You answer me honestly, I redirect your focus when needed, and we see if we can clear up some of those blurry moments. Think you can do that?" He quickly nodded.

"I want to know who killed my friend."

"Close your eyes. You're back at Richie's. You're excited for him, but also for you. That money would really help, wouldn't it?" He nodded as he closed his eyes.

"Big time."

"So you two are drinking to celebrate. What are you having?"

"Scotch, the good stuff, he says he's been waiting on the right occasion for it."

"Good, so you're drinking the good stuff. What are you talking about?" He smiled wistfully.

"The good ole days, before all the new businesses and people started coming into the neighborhood. We're just reminiscing about how it used to be before…" He hesitated and she eyed him curiously.

"Before what, Wally?"

"Before the Company lost control," he admitted as he looked down.

"How long did he work for the Company?"

"I don't know. Maybe ten years or so. Times were different back then."

"And how long did you?" His eyes darted open and he quickly shook his head.

"I didn't…"

"My job is to find out who killed Richie Kakuda. I don't care about anything else, but that. Close your eyes, Wally." He gulped and slowly closed his eyes again.

"Richie worked for them for about a decade and you?" she asked again.

"Six months, longest of my life, Richie used to say I wasn't cut out for it. I was too scared all the time, but so was he, you know? The gangs, the retribution, and constant looking over your shoulder."

"So you got out."

"Richie got me out."

"So you go the straight and narrow, become a family man, but you never forgot your roots. Richie wanted you to hold an event from time to time, why not, right?"

"I never knew about his business."

"Of course not, but you had to know some of his associates. You see any that night?"

"From the old days? No, I haven't seen them since Kai was a child."

"That's not what I asked. Enough about the past, focus on now, the other night, you two are drinking, you're talking about the old days, the good times, the Company. Your guards are down. Drinks are flowing. Did anyone else show up? Anyone call him? Was his attention ever not solely on your drinks and celebration?" He frowned as he slowly nodded.

"She called him. We were drinking and they started arguing over the phone. She was angry about him signing the contract without telling her. He wanted her to come over. The way he talked, it was a lover's quarrel. He was so sure she was just pissed he didn't tell her yet. I don't remember her name. I'm sorry. I can't really remember her face…"

"I don't need you to focus on those details. You're doing great. When did you two end up on the porch?" He rubbed his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to fight through the brain fog.

"We were waiting for her. I don't remember the car."

"Don't focus on the car, Wally, focus on the porch. You two were on the porch. You were waiting for her."

"Yeah and she was pissed. They started fighting. He slapped her and I got between them you know? I didn't want him to hurt her but she just took it and pounced right back on him. I don't know how I ended up on the ground. I just remember the gun going off and hearing someone fall. I thought it was her. I'd seen Richie take down some big guys back in our heyday. I didn't even think about it being him. I woke up, was in the back of a squad car, and told that was it. Richie was dead." He wiped a tear from his eyes and Maya sighed in relief.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Wally." He slowly nodded and she stood to leave with Zeinab right behind her. Kate and Carlos joined them out in the hallway and Maya smiled when Carlos handed her a tablet with a picture of an older woman.

"Melani Briggs, a known associate of Kakuda," he informed.

"If she killed Kakuda and tried to pin it on Wally, the moment he was out on bail, he became a threat to her. She probably was having him watched," said Maya. Kate nodded in agreement.

"We found the call that Wally received yesterday. It took place almost thirty minutes before you arrived. We can't trace it directly to Briggs, but it did come from an establishment she frequents," said Kate.

"You think they were going to take out a hit on him?" asked Zeinab.

"I think it's a good thing Maya arrived when she did. Let's go have a chat with Melani Briggs and her associates," suggested Kate. They all nodded with relieved smiles, feeling like they finally had a suspect that fit the profile necessary to kill Richie Kakuda.

Kate, Maya, Zeinab, and Carlos watched from the railing overlooking the entryway to the FBI Headquarters as Kai finished signing the release forms with his father. It didn't take long for the team to track down Kakuda's associate since she had been on the FBI's Watchlist for years. Kate called Jane the moment Briggs was arrested for the murder of Kakuda and the paperwork to release Wally was started. It didn't take long after that for Wally to be released from FBI custody and Kate smiled at the elation on Kai's face as he hugged his father. Kai looked up at the team and smiled appreciatively at them. Kate's phone began to buzz in her pocket and she headed back to her office when she recognized who it was. She answered the FaceTime call and sat back in her chair as her mentor smiled at her.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Kakuda is no longer an issue and you arrested the associate that had been in charge of his territories behind the scenes for years now. All in one weekend too, that's impressive even for your team."

"Why did you put us on the case? You knew my connection to the suspect, to NCIS, and that it would be a conflict of interest, but you assigned it to my team anyways. Why?"

"Because it was an open and shut case. Kakuda had a lot of enemies and no one was exactly surprised that one got to him. The prints were on the gun. Everything about the case was served up on a silver platter. Most agents would've accepted that."

"But you knew my team wouldn't."

"Couldn't, and while I have not always been warm and fuzzy about your connection to NCIS, I can admit it has brought out the best in you in some ways…the worst in others."

"You mean by making me pause and consider that rules and protocols can have unintended consequences?"

"Like I said, the worst." Kate shook her head in amusement.

"You know this is why I chose you as my mentor, right?"

"Chose me? You think you chose me?"

"You have a very hard exterior that's necessary sometimes, but you want what's best for people. I've always admired that about you."

"And I admire that you've found your own sense of balance with that. You've surrounded yourself with the right people, including your bride-to-be. How did she handle all of it?"

"She never ceases to amaze me or surprise me when I least expect it in the best ways possible."

"Well, I wish I could be at the ceremony, but I'll be overseas for a few weeks. Send her my best and know that I'm happy for you. Your official gift will be in the mail soon, but I figured knowing that this will be your last assignment until you return from the honeymoon is a gift as well. You and your team continue to impress, so I think a bit of a vacation is in order. Once you finish up the other cases you are working on, of course."

"Of course, and thank you. Safe travels, stay safe, and if you need anything, you know you can always call."

"That I do." With that, her mentor hung up and she sighed in relief. It had been yet another stressful case, something she was accustomed to in some ways in her line of work, and she was relieved it ended well for Kai and his family.

By the time she made it home, Kate was ready to curl up to her fiancée on the couch and get lost in one of the shows they were binge-watching. Lucy could tell Kate was tired, so while she showered, Lucy ordered her favorite takeout and it was waiting on her after she got out of the shower and into her comfortable sweatpants and hooded sweater. Lucy giggled as Kate nuzzled her neck, far more focused on the woman she loved than the current episode they were supposed to be watching. Lucy pulled her on top of her as they fell back onto the couch, but both groaned when they heard a knock on the door. Lucy sighed in defeat as the knocking continued.

"I'll get it. Don't move," called Lucy as she jogged to the door. She looked out the peephole and grinned when she opened the door to see Kai standing there with a sheepish smile.

"Hey, Luce."

"About time," she said. He blushed and she opened the door wider to invite him in. Kate was surprised to see him and paused the show as she stood up from the couch.

"Kai, hey," she said as he slowly approached. He glanced over at Lucy and she winked at him.

"I'm just gonna finish my dinner in the kitchen and call Jesse. He's still freaking out about the bachelorette party," said Lucy as she grabbed her carton of food and quickly got out of dodge.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kate as he began to fidget.

"I, uh, well, I came to apologize for how I acted. It wasn't okay. I just was so scared of losing my pop that I…well, I lashed out at you and tried to go it alone. I should've trusted you. I'm sorry, Kate."

"It's fine. I get it." He walked over to her and shook his head.

"No, it's not. Even Hina was ready to rip me a new one. I came at you all wrong. I was approaching it like you were someone investigating my pop."

"Uh, I was someone investigating your pop."

"Yeah, but you aren't just someone. You're the person I get to watch rom coms with and who always is down to go catch some waves, no matter how last minute the plan is. You show up to my pop's place to eat and put in big orders just to give him some extra business…don't think we haven't both noticed." Kate blushed.

"Our headquarters has a lot of luncheons. It just makes sense to use a local restaurant," she assured.

"And you always make sure his place gets their business. The point is, I stepped to you like we weren't on the same side, like you haven't always had our back. I was looking at it like a fed was investigating my pops, but I should've seen it for what it was. The woman who's become like a sister to me was looking into things and Hina is right. I didn't treat you like 'ohana and I'm sorry about that." She looked down and shrugged.

"I get it. The moment I was assigned, I knew it was going to be a hard case."

"I'm sorry I made it harder by not trusting you when you constantly remind me that I can. I will never make that mistake again." She smiled when he pulled her in for the warm hug she didn't realize she needed from him.

"I'm glad it all worked out and we caught the actual killer," she said.

"All thanks to you and your team. You think they'll be as forgiving as you are being right now?"

"Maya's already forgiven you and Carlos was never really mad, just trying to do his job. You know he gets it. Cases involving family are always tough."

"What about Zeinab? She can be kind of scary when she wants to be."

"Terrifying and trust me, you don't know the half of it."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?" She giggled and gave him a pat on the back.

"I'll talk to her. She got pretty rattled by Maya getting hurt. Zeinab doesn't trust or open up easily. It's one of the things we've always had in common. She knows Wally didn't mean to do it, though. It was just a close call, even a bit too close for me, but that's on me."

"How, you didn't force liquor down my pop's throat?"

"No, but the protocols are there for a reason. It shouldn't have mattered that it was someone we knew. She shouldn't have gone alone and that's on me."

"Leave it to you to take responsibility for something like that."

"That's the job."

"Well, the job is done for the day and case is closed. My pop has been cleared and I know you and Maya pulled some strings to make sure no charges were pressed for what happened to her yesterday and that an investigation wasn't opened about the funds in his account from Kakuda."

"Our job was to find Kakuda's killer, not worry about where the man spent his money in his final days."

"Thank you for that."

"Of course."

"You know, next weekend, we should have a movie night. It will be some of the final days you have as a free woman. We could order a pizza and I can finally show you She's All That. I still can't believe you haven't watched it. It's a classic."

"My mom and I only really watch 80s rom coms."

"Which is why you need me to expand your horizons a bit," he teased.

"Okay, deal. I'll be there."

"Cool. We have to watch 10 Things I Hate About You too, 1999 was peak rom com excellence," he added.

"That's a pretty bold statement," she said with a giggle.

"I only speak the truth, but we'll catch up on some of the others later, after we get you two hitched. I'm really glad you forgave me because I would've missed my movie night buddy. Don't tell Lucy, but you're way easier to watch movies with."

"Right? She always wants to talk," said Kate.

"Or guess what's going to happen," he added.

"Or ask you what's going to happen instead of just…."

"Watching the movie," they said in unison. They laughed when Lucy rounded the corner to glare at them.

"I like to ask questions, so sue me! Besides, some of us don't need complete silence to enjoy a movie," defended Lucy.

"It's not complete silence. We just don't need an episode of Jerry Springer in the background," said Kai. Kate shook with mirth as Lucy glared at them.

"So then it's settled. We'll definitely have a movie night. Say Anything has to be on the list too though," she warned.

"Of course, what are we, noobs? It's the classic of classics," he reminded.

"Totally classic," she agreed with a nod. They both rolled their eyes when Lucy fanned her eyes with her hands.

"Aw, you two are so cute sometimes. Look at you planning your little slumber party and talking about how late you're going to stay up," said Lucy. She laughed when Kai headed for the door and Kate followed. Kate giggled and opened the door for him.

"Text you later," he called over his shoulder. As he left, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders that she didn't realize she had been carrying. When she first came to Hawai'i, she yearned to find a group of people that she could call friends, but never expected to find a second family as well. While no one would ever be able to fill that place in her heart where Noah would always be, it was nice to know that even when they had arguments or didn't agree, Kai was becoming something like a brother to her.

AN: Okay, yes, I have been rooting for a Kai and Kate…aka Kaite….friendship since 1x21 and their Say Anything geek out moment. Let's hope we get more of that in Season 2. In the meantime, what did you think of the chapter? I hate when Kate is fighting with the team, but love when they all come together. Next up, the wedding!