When it came time to go out with Myers that night, Kate was exhausted.
The day had been long and she'd been researching ever since she arrived back from Mrs. Hardy's home. What she had begun to notice was that each book portrayed Ystehogol differently. While one might inform the reader that Ystehogol was ghost-like with the ability to pass through solid objects, another would say Ystehogol was more akin to a shadow and very much corporeal. Kate found it infuriating and was beginning to wonder if they would ever be able to know enough about this creature to find and capture it. The one fact she found every book to agree on was the color of Ystehogol's eyes. Each book described those golden eyes in vivid detail.
As Kate trudged back to her room after an exhausting afternoon of researching, she took little notice of any other activity going on around her. As if the frustrating research hadn't been enough, the bruise on her head she discovered that morning was feeling worse as the day wore on.
After slipping the card-key in her door, Kate locked the door behind her and decided to make herself look presentable with the little time she had before she and Myers left. Knowing she hadn't bothered with any make-up that day, she made her way to the bathroom and dug around in the back of her drawer for the red lipstick she'd worn upon arriving at the Bureau.
When she realized there wasn't much else she could do to make herself look any better, she grabbed her bag and went to find Myers. It didn't take long as he was heading down the hall in her direction while she locked her bedroom door behind her.
He smiled warmly at her as he approached.
"Ready for that coffee? You look like you need some," he joked upon seeing her weary expression.
Kate smiled in return and hit him lightly on the arm.
"Thanks. Hey, did Manning give us leave for this?"
After two secret expeditions outside of the Bureau without getting caught, she wasn't willing to press her luck.
Myers nodded. "Yup, we're all set. Although, even if he hadn't I'm sure you wouldn't have minded showing me your secret way out of the Bureau."
Gasping, Kate gazed back at him wide-eyed. "How did you-"
"I saw you sneaking out earlier this morning on my way to a conference," he interrupted, then quickly added, "I won't tell, but I'd love to know what you were up to."
Kate watched him. "Aren't you more curious about how I knew how to sneak out," she asked, confused, thinking that would have been the first thing he'd want to know.
Myers shook his head and smiled knowingly.
"I think I've already got an idea."
Blushing with embarrassment, Kate grabbed his hand and attempted to pull him down the hall.
"Aren't we going to get coffee?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Myers stared at her, confused. "You're going in that?"
Kate looked down at herself and didn't see what he was confused about. She looked like she always did wearing a grey pantsuit and black heels. Then she understood. She hadn't noticed until now that Myers was not wearing his traditional business suit, but rather faded jeans, a plain, black, long-sleeved t-shirt under a ski-jacket, and tennis shoes.
Kate shrugged. "I guess so," she admitted.
Truthfully, she had nothing other than business suits to wear. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn jeans and a t-shirt.
Smiling, Myers took her hand and the two headed out.
---
The cool night air was beginning to cause Kate to shiver and she chided herself for not owning anything warmer. She stood next to Myers at a small stand on the side of the street as he ordered two large coffees.
When it came time to pay, Kate reached into her bag and pulled out her wallet but Myers covered her hand with his.
She looked up at him and he smiled.
"I've got it," he said warmly, taking her wallet from her and putting it back in her bag.
"But-" she retorted, but he was already paying with his own money.
A few minutes later, coffees in hand, the two continued on down the street and stopped in front of a large library, deciding to rest on the steps in front of it.
Eager to get warm, Kate took a large drink of her coffee and made a disgusted face when she realized it contained no cream or sugar.
Myers had been watching her and chuckled when he saw her reaction.
"Sorry, I should have warned you. Here."
He unloaded the contents of the brown, paper bag he'd been holding and Kate was happy to see about a dozen packets of sugar and a small carton of milk in front of her.
She looked back at him as if to ask if he'd like any, but he held up his hand.
"It's all yours," he explained.
Kate happily emptied all of the sugar into her coffee and then added a fair amount of milk before putting the lid back on and swirling the liquid around a bit to mix it up.
She took a sip and smiled, then glanced at Myers.
"Thank you."
Myers smiled amusedly at her.
"I just remembered how much sugar I saw you use earlier in the kitchen. I don't think I've ever seen someone put so much sugar in their coffee."
Kate took another drink.
"When I was little, I was never allowed to have sugar. My parent's were both type one diabetics, so I wasn't allowed to have sugar because they weren't. Once I was living away from home, it became a habit to add sugar to anything just because I could and I wasn't going to get in trouble for it."
Myers watched her curiously.
"You've never talked about your childhood before."
With a half smile, Kate replied, "Well, I haven't known you for very long."
A moment of silence passed before Kate remembered something.
"By the way, I meant to tell you this is a good look for you. You look a lot less stuffy when you're not in a suit," she joked.
Myers laughed. "Oh? Well, I'm glad I don't look stuffy tonight. Didn't you want to change before we left too?"
Sighing, Kate shook her head.
"I don't think I've worn anything but business suits since high school. I don't have anything else to wear."
Myers waited for her to go on.
Looking up the sky, Kate continued.
"All my life people have always questioned my experience, my capability, my reliability… It was always, 'you're too young' or 'you're too inexperienced'. I've always felt I'm one of those people who is older at heart and it got to be so frustrating that no matter what I did, I could never prove to anyone what I was capable of.
"Once I got to college I was so sick of people not taking me seriously that I started to only wear suits anywhere I went. I don't know, maybe I thought it made me look older… I always thought that the most respected people always wore business suits…"
She looked over at Myers who seemed truly interested in what she was saying.
Laughing, she said, "Sorry. That was probably a lot more explanation than you needed."
Kate locked eyes with him for a moment as he answered, "No, not at all. If it makes you feel any better, Kate, I think after what you did yesterday finding out what killed Agent Hardy, no one would even think to question if you belong here."
Kate scoffed at his remark as she realized someone who would.
"I'm sure Agent Hellboy wouldn't agree with you."
Myers shook his head. "Don't worry about him. Hellboy is just stubborn. He's holding a grudge because you talked back to him your first day on the job. Besides, he actually asked about you earlier today."
Kate perked up. "He did?"
Myers nodded. "Mm-hmm, he asked me where you were, but I didn't know. Now that I think about it, that was right before I saw you sneaking out. Where did you go?"
Kate knew this was coming.
Reluctantly, she said, "I went to go interview Mrs. Hardy."
With a look of surprise, Myers stared at her.
"Jesus, if Manning found out…"
Kate took a drink of her coffee and nodded.
"Yeah but, I knew there had to be something about Agent Hardy we didn't know that might have caused the attack."
"Did you find out anything," asked Myers.
"No. He hadn't done anything that could have triggered Ystehogol to go after him. I can't figure out why this happened. That's what's frustrating."
Myers put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. You'll figure it out."
Kate wanted to believe him, but she was beginning to worry they weren't going to be able to prevent another attack if they didn't find out something soon.
With his hand on her shoulder, Myers must have noticed she was shivering and he unbuttoned his jacket and handed it to her.
Kate pushed it back towards him. "No, you'll freeze."
Not taking no for an answer, Myers draped the jacket over her shoulders and sat back down next to her.
"I'll be fine," he said, simply.
It was then Kate was reminded of the bruise on her head. She winced in pain and rubbed her temples as she felt the searing pain. Myers had been looking away and did not notice.
Good, thought Kate, the last thing I need is for this stupid headache to mess up my time away from the Bureau.
She gazed out at the people walking along the sidewalk in front of them.
"So, when do I get to hear more about you, John?" she asked, suddenly interested.
Myers chuckled and flashed a boyish smile.
"I can't remember the last time someone called me John. I've missed it, thank you," he said, staring down at his hands.
Smiling, Kate said, "Well, it felt silly calling you Myers when you're calling me Kate."
Again, Kate felt the wave of pain and breathed in sharply. This caught Myers' attention and she felt him grab her shoulders as she doubled over in pain.
"Kate! What's wrong?"
But, she couldn't answer him. Instead, she shook her head.
Once she found her voice again, Kate looked back at him.
"I'm fine. I've had a headache today, that's all. It's probably just stress."
Myers didn't seem convinced. "C'mon. Let's get you back to the Bureau and Abe can check you out and find out what's wrong."
He helped her to stand as she shook her head again.
"No really, I'm okay. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
It seemed as though this time he believed her, but he still held on to her shoulders as they walked.
"Alright, but if you feel like that again, you need to let me know immediately, okay?"
Kate smiled warmly at him and then surprised herself by kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"Thank you," she said softly as they continued on.
Kate didn't want him to think she thought of him romantically, but was so overcome with emotion at the idea that he cared so much for her well-being.
It wasn't long before they arrived back, but to Kate it seemed like hours.
The pain in her head continued to grow every minute, but she didn't want Myers to have to go out of his way for her.
She soon found herself alone and back at her bedroom door.
Myers had insisted that she go straight to bed and get some sleep when she got back.
"Yes, Dr. Myers," she'd joked with a weak laugh.
The pain began to increase so much that Kate had a hard time being able to see straight enough to put the card-key into the slot in her door.
Distantly, she heard footsteps coming closer. She glanced around and was only able to see a large, red blob.
"You okay, kid?" asked a voice.
It was all Kate could do to shake her head before the world around her faded to black.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed chapter seven. Thank you again, reviewers! You make my day! Please, if you haven't left a review, take the time to do so now. Review please. Thank you!