The first time he got angry at her; she had just gotten back from closing the case with Agent Reimer. The burning rage in his gut wasn't like the other times he had gotten angry with her; this time he could taste his rage at her, the anger burning hotter the more he looked at her. She was angry too but not at him but at the agent on her heels still yelling at her. Ressler didn't want to interfere but his body wasn't under his control. The more time he spent around her, the more he felt out of control. Quickly striding over to the arguing pair; he reached out and gripped her upper arm effectively halting the harsh words she was practically spitting at the thundering agent. When she turned her head she didn't make eye contact with him because he was staring daggers at the bald agent. The other agent was about to reach out and take her other arm but stopped short when he looked at the angered agent currently grasping the arm of the woman he was currently fighting with. Giving up; he backed off and made a beeline for his desk.

Ressler felt her fight against his hold as he practically dragged her to his office and only released her when he slammed the door to his office shut. Turning to the brunette; he almost faltered when he saw her face.

"Are you out of your mind?" He raged at her as he stepped into her personal space. At first the look on her face was of shock but it quickly turned to match his fire.

"What the hell are you angry about?" She yelled right back at him; stepping into his space. His close proximity was disturbing to her; she hated him yet he was attractive and she was a woman who was alive so it was hard for her not to notice him.

"You need to be more professional when you are working on our cases; just because you are a consultant doesn't mean that you can act like a four year old!" She stepped back and scoffed at him before biting her lip and shaking her head slightly.

"That's utter bullshit; did you forget I can tell when people are lying?" Ressler's jaw snapped shut with an audible clack. "You know what I think you're mad about? I think it has to do with Reimer and my agreement to work with him!"

"What the hell does Reimer have to do with anything?"

"Everything apparently; he's an easier read than you! You're pissed at him because he snaked a win from you way back and you've never gotten over it. That and my agreement to work with the FBI were given in conjunction with working with you; therefore you're mad because I helped a rival close a case."

"You think you're so damn smart? You know nothing about me except what you can glean from cold reading my emotions."

"You have emotions? News to me; come to think of it, I should send out an email to the whole world so EVERYONE knows!"

"You're such a smartass!"

"And you're a liar!" Silence permeated the air around them as they tried to slow their ragged breathing.

"Yeah I guess I am; been lying to myself about how good of a person you are! I was wrong; you're a criminal, no better than the people you help put away. I'll just have to remember that fact from now on." He wanted to be sick when her face fell just slightly but he was so angry with her that he didn't spare it another thought.

"Guess you're right Agent Ressler; I'll just go kill someone so I can really get your opinion of me sunk in." With that she stormed past him; roughly shouldering him out of the way. The feeling that he wanted to take back what he said didn't come immediately.

It was three days later and another blacklist name for him to realize that he needed to apologize. They were out in the field; normally she wasn't required to be with the team on field operations but she needed to be since they had to get through a few people as quickly as possible. She hadn't seen the suspect come up behind her and was suddenly trapped in a stand –off with a knife held to her throat. Ressler rewrapped his hand around the butt of his gun and tried not to think about the knife pushed against her throat; he was known for his ability to focus on his work but with her in the room and in danger, it proved difficult for him.

"Let her go Kyle! This doesn't have to end like this!"

"Yes it does; you came here for me! Now I'm going to take this agent with me to ensure my ride out of here and you can't do anything to stop me." With that, they backed up and Katherine had to keep her balance to avoid the knife that was increasing in pressure against her neck.

"Hey! I'm not an agent; do I seriously look like a cop?" Katherine yells at the man dragging her backwards and grimaces as the knife cuts deeper into her throat; she can feel the blood trickle down onto her chest.

"No but you work for them and that's good enough for me. Now shut-up." Kyle hisses in her ear and drags her roughly back; Katherine's sharp cry echoed in the warehouse space. Ressler couldn't hold back his anger at her cry and aimed his gun higher. Making eye contact with Katherine, he tried to communicate with her his rash plan but all he could see was her fear and it was in that moment that he wanted to apologize to her for what he said. Making a hasty decision he fired a round and hit Kyle in the head. He didn't think of anything else as he rushed forward and grabbed Katherine to him; he moved her hand from her throat and saw the dark blood seeping from the gash situated dangerously close to her artery. Putting pressure on her hand he called out for a medic; her face was covered in Kyle's blood and her own and he felt his heart beat faster as she looked at him in shock.

"You shot him!" She whispered at him.

"Yeah I had to."

"In the head?"

"It was the only option."

"What if I had moved my head?"

"You wouldn't have."

"You had no way of knowing that."

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her as he helped her to sit down while the ambulance pulled up.

"As you should be; you could have killed me!"

"I didn't mean about that."

"What?"

"I'm sorry about what I said to you three days ago. I didn't mean it." She looked at him in shock as the medics hovered around her and he had to move back to give them space. She still stared at him as they loaded her into the ambulance but before the doors closed, she called out to him.

"You're an utter ass but I forgive you." Ressler tried to stop the smile that inched across his face but found he didn't care as much as he used to.