A/N: I feel really redundant by saying the same thing every chapter, but I really appreciate all your feedback here and on Tumblr. You guys have been amazingly supportive and for that, I thank you.

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Hiding my Heart

Chapter 8

Kate decided to let Ryan and Esposito handle Juliet's interrogation. Her mind was running circles in the speed of light and she had to keep telling herself that this didn't mean anything. Juliet Carter being here didn't mean anything. It couldn't. It had to be coincidence. Closing her eyes, she leaned back on the chair she was sitting on in the observation room and let out a heavy sigh. Her parents used to love having Juliet around and had worked with her for years before they were killed. Her mother, in particular, considered Juliet to be a close friend and Kate remembered having the woman over for birthdays and other special dates countless times when she was a teenager. After her parents were murdered, however, she lost touch with everyone that used to work in her parents' firm, including Juliet Carter.

Now as she watched the woman being interrogated, she couldn't help having flashbacks of happier times. She hadn't thought about her in years. She looked pretty much the same as she had ten years ago, but she seemed so tired, the dark circles under her eyes betraying what was probably a lot of sleepless nights. Kate couldn't blame her, really; three of her co-workers, including her boss, had been murdered in the span of three days. It was no wonder the woman looked so scared and nervous. During the questioning, she claimed she didn't know anything and recounted her last day with Kevin Blanchard. Kate knew she was innocent and had nothing to do with the case. The Juliet she knew would never hurt a fly. Part of her wanted to go in there and tell them to stop badgering her, but instead she sat in the observation room, hiding like a coward.

When Esposito finally opened the door of the interrogation room, Kate jumped to her feet and made her way outside. Just as she was closing the door to the observation room, Juliet saw her, eyes widened in surprise.

"Katie?" Her voice shook slightly and Kate had a flashback of her parents' funeral. Juliet had been wearing a black dress and sunglasses to hide her tears. She had hugged Kate and Emily tight and said nothing. Her silence and her touch had been enough to comfort them for that short moment. "Katie Beckett?"

"Hi, Juliet." Kate breathed, letting out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding.

"Oh, Katie." The woman stepped forward and threw her arms around her in a fierce hug. "Oh, darling, look at you. You're all grown up." She reached up and touched her cheek with a joyous smile.

"I'm really sorry about Mr. Blanchard." Kate said quietly, walking with her to the elevator, aware that Ryan and Esposito were watching her closely.

"I still can't believe he's gone. He was such a nice man. So young too." She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. "How have you been, sweetie? How's little Emily?"

"I'm alright. Emily is not so little anymore." She said with a small grin. "She just turned 21 last week."

"Oh wow, already? Time flies." She commented and Kate nodded, pushing the elevator button. "And you're a detective now, huh? I've heard of your work, you know, from the office. Your name has crossed our desks a few times. I just didn't know you were working on this case." She said sympathetically, touching her arm and Kate sighed.

"Yeah." She said and the elevator doors opened. "It was great seeing you again, Juliet." She smiled at the older woman, who pulled her in for another hug.

"You too, Katie. Keep in touch, will you?" She said stepping into the elevator and Kate waved as the doors closed. When Juliet vanished from sight, Kate let out a heavy sigh, and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.

"You okay, Becks?" She felt someone touch her arm and found Ryan looking at her with concern.

"Yeah, it's just… I hadn't seen her in a while." She forced a smile and saw Ryan looking behind her as the elevator pinged and the doors opened again.

"There you are!" Emily's voice startled her and she turned around in a flash. "I've been trying to call you for the past half hour."

"Oh, Em, I'm so sorry. We got caught up in something here and I completely forgot. We can go now." She smiled at her sister. At least Emily could distract her from the turmoil going on inside her head. Juliet's sudden appearance had thrown her off balance and the feeling that something was going on right in front of her eyes and she was totally missing it was stronger than ever.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked, now looking at Kate concerned. Ryan stepped in, though, saving her from having to make up an excuse.

"Just normal cop stuff, little Beckett. You guys going out to lunch?" He gave them a friendly smile and Kate nodded at him gratefully.

"Yeah, do you mind? I'll be back in an hour." She said walking over to her desk to pick up her purse and jacket.

"Not at all. We'll hold down the fort while you're gone." He watched her as she put on her jacket and looked around to see where Emily was, spotting her talking to Esposito a couple of feet away. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?" He asked quietly and Kate nodded, touched by his concern. They really were the brothers she had never had.

"I'll be fine, Ryan." She gave him a small smile and touched his arm. "But thanks." She whispered and he nodded. "Come on, Em." She called her sister and waved at Esposito. "I'll be back soon, guys. Call me if anything comes up."

"Will do, boss." Esposito called after her and she told herself to relax and focus on having lunch with her little sister.

Juliet Carter showing up in the middle of a murder investigation that was a lot like her parents' didn't mean anything.

It was just a coincidence.

Please, God, it had to be.

Three weeks passed and they hadn't made any arrests or a lot of progress on the Peterson & Johnston triple murder investigation. Others cases kept coming through the door and the team had to focus on things they could solve immediately. The four cases they had caught in those three weeks had been solved in record time and, even though they didn't have much to go on the triple murder, their solve rate was still one of the highest of the 12th Precinct.

It was a Friday night and Kate was standing in front of the Peterson & Johnston murder board that she had set up again when they had closed the other cases. It was late and the bullpen was pretty much empty, most of the detectives and uniforms having already gone home for the night. Still, she kept staring at the board, comparing timelines and facts. Something had to pop. Something had to makes sense in this case. The Senator had alibied out, as had all his known associates and employees, which left them pretty much back at square one. With their prime suspect out of the game and no other possible suspect to take his place, they didn't have anything to go on and it was driving Kate mad with frustration. She always solved her cases. Always. She would crack this one eventually. She had to.

"I figured I'd find you here."

She turned around, startled, her hand flying to her chest, where her heart was racing like crazy. Rick was watching her, leaning against a desk a few feet away, and smiled at her reaction. They had seen each other every other day for the past three weeks, but it always seemed to be rushed because she was in the middle of a case or he had to go get the kids or go to a meeting with his publisher. They had hung out when they could, but they still hadn't been out on an official second date. Now that he was standing just a few feet away from her, she realized she had really missed him in the past two days that they hadn't seen each other.

"Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack." She gasped, massaging her chest and he laughed, walking over to her. She slapped his arm when he got within reach and gave him a small smile, rolling her eyes, when he feigned pain at her attack. "Hey." She whispered and leaned up for a kiss. He pressed his lips to hers and she allowed him to deepen it for a moment, his tongue playing with hers for a delicious second, before she remembered where she was and pulled away. He touched her cheek, caressing it with his thumb and pressed another quick kiss to her lips.

"Hey." He finally whispered back and leaned against the desk next to her, their arms touching. His hand quickly found hers and took it captive. "I missed you." He confessed and she smiled at him, trying to push down that warm feeling that kept spreading through her whenever he was around these days.

"Missed you too." She said quietly, threading her fingers through his, and leaned against his side.

She still had that lingering doubt about his playboy extraordinaire fame, but he managed to make her forget about it every time they were together. Lately, she hadn't been thinking much at all about it, if she was completely honest, but that was probably because she had been so determined to crack this case. Every time she looked at the pictures of the crime scenes, her mind immediately flashbacked to that night when she had found her parents. It had been consuming her thoughts and she couldn't shake this horrible feeling of foreboding. She felt silly for even thinking about it, but she truly felt this was just the beginning, the calm before the storm.

Yeah, it sounded incredibly cliché in her mind too.

"How long until you can get outta here?" He asked and she sighed, looking around the bullpen, noticing that it was now completely empty, except for the two uniforms in the break room that were still on shift.

"Now, actually. I was just reviewing the case, trying to find something we may have missed." She gestured to the board in front of her and Rick turned to look at the setup, grimacing when he saw the gruesome photographs.

"Wow." He breathed, staring at Blanchard's lifeless eyes in the picture.

"Death is never pretty." She commented and he nodded, still looking at the board. "Hey, I thought you didn't have anyone to stay with Jamie and Alexis tonight." She said, walking over to her desk to gather her things. He followed her and helped her put on her jacket.

"Their mother showed up this afternoon out of the blue. We don't really get along all that well anymore so I thought I'd stay out of the way and let the kids enjoy their time with her. God only knows when she's going to show up again." He explained, shrugging in the end, and took her hand, as they walked to the elevator.

"Oh." It was all she could think to say. It was the first time he mentioned any sort of relationship with his ex-wife.

"So I thought I'd come and see you because I hadn't seen you in two whole days." He grinned at her boyishly and she felt her lips tugging up out of their own volition in a timid smile. "You'd mentioned you were still working on this case, so I figured you'd still be here when I couldn't find you at home and you wouldn't answer your phone." He tugged on her hand and she went willingly, leaning against his side.

"Oh, it died a couple of hours ago and I forgot my charger at home." She explained and pulled him into the elevator when the doors opened. Pushing the button to the first floor, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now.

"Tired?" He asked, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand.

"Yeah." She nodded and turned to look at him. "So what's the plan?"

"I thought maybe we could grab some dinner. You up for it?" He asked and she leaned against him again, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment.

"We could grab some Chinese and then head back to my place. If you don't mind, that is." She suggested and he nodded, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Sounds great." He said as the doors opened and they stepped out.

It was a nice night out, the spring air making everyone come out and enjoy the pleasant temperature. Summer was approaching and the freezing winter temperatures were long gone. They walked hand in hand, talking quietly about nothing and Kate suddenly realized how comfortable she felt with him. Even when their conversation hit a lull and they were quiet, it wasn't awkward. She looked at his profile and had to fight the urge to reach out and run her fingers (and lips) over his stubbly jaw.

In the end, they decided to go straight to her place and order in. Hailing a cab, Rick ushered her inside when one finally stopped and she gave the driver her address. Leaning back against him, she let out a sigh that quickly turned into a yawn.

"Sorry I'm not the greatest company in the world tonight." She murmured, turning to him, hiding her face in the crook of her neck. "I didn't realize how tired I was until now."

She pulled away, enough to look at him, but he just shook his head and kissed her. The gentle kiss slowly deepened and turned a lot more passionate then she was expecting. Suddenly all her exhaustion all but evaporated as his hands gently explored whatever they could reach on her body. His touch left a trail of fire in their wake and she felt breathless, but craving more at the same time. When he slipped his hand under her shirt, caressing the taut skin of her stomach and then brushed the underside of her breasts, a gasp escaped her lips. He attacked her neck as she tried to catch her breath, nipping her skin and letting his tongue soothe the slight pain afterwards. She searched his lips again and their tongues had just begun to dance together again when the driver tapped on the window that separated the backseat from the front seats.

They pulled apart as if they had been burned and Kate tried to dig her wallet out of her purse, cheeks burning, but Rick was quicker and gave him a fifty, telling him to keep the change. She rolled her eyes at his inability to let her pay for anything and got out of the car with him following closely behind. When he caught up with her, he hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing butterfly kisses on her neck, while she tried to find her keys. His ministrations were entirely too distracting and she had to nudge him away for a moment to have the presence of mind to fish her keys out of her purse. When she finally managed to open the door, they stumbled inside her building, giggling and kissing like teenagers. She stepped away from him for a moment, tugging him along by his hand and led him to the elevator, pushing the button. While they waited, Rick kept her distracted by gently sucking on her collarbone, which made a delicious shiver run through her body.

Dazedly, she wondered why they had waited almost a month for this, as they stepped into the elevator. He cornered her against the wall after she pushed the button for the fourth floor and reclaimed her mouth, kissing her deeply. His hands seemed to be everywhere and his body pressed against hers and her hips moving out of their own accord against his were making her head spin and she couldn't quite catch her breath. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had experienced something so intense and they were only kissing, she thought dizzily when the ping of the elevator announced they had arrived on her floor. She pulled away from him, dragging him by the hand until they stopped at her door. Before she could get her keys in the lock, he had pressed her against the door and she allowed him to steal her away into this pleasant world for a few minutes. She had never thought that this was how her night would end when she standing in front of that murder board not even an hour ago. She could feel his need for her pressing against her hips and it took all of her self control to break their connection and turn around in his arms to open the door.

"I really, really missed you." He whispered in her ear, taking her lobe between his teeth. She laughed breathlessly and turned the key in the lock, opening the door.

"I missed you too." She allowed him to turn her around and kiss her again, pushing her into the apartment. "So much." She murmured against his lips without thinking, pulling his body close until it was pressed against hers again.

They stumbled into the apartment in a mess of lips, tongues and teeth until Kate tripped on something and nearly lost her balance. Startled, she broke their kiss and held on to him to prevent her fall. They looked at each other confused for a moment until she reached out and flipped the switch on the wall, illuminating the living room. Looking down to see what had interrupted them, she felt her blood freeze in her veins and her breath catch in her throat.

"What is it?" Rick asked, concerned at the sudden change in her eyes. "Kate?"

"Oh, no." She whispered to herself, shaking her head. "Not again." She had nearly forgotten about it and now there it was again.

Another stupid manila envelope addressed to her.

A/N: Thoughts?