Megan had been rather busy over the past month, especially with switching Lacey into a public school. She'd chosen Haddonfield, not Central, wanting to get her as far away from the drug ring as possible even though she knew there would be dangers and temptations anywhere. Lacey had learned a very painful lesson. She seemed to adapt rather nicely to the new school, and her attitude was shifting back to her old cheerful self. Megan was happy the "angsty phase" appeared to be short-lived.

At the office, there were a ton of cases that came in and were quickly solved, but this latest one was more taxing. An intern at a publishing house was found dead in a storage room by his fellow employees, and the cause of death was proving to be elusive. Megan knocked on Kate's door before entering, still in her lab coat and scrubs.

"Kate, I need to run some additional tests on Ellis Freidman. Initial hypothesis was negative, so I'm going…"

"Sure," Kate peered over the documents she was reading at her desk.

Megan paused. Her nose crinkled up as it did when she was puzzled. She narrowed her eyes and took a few steps forward.

"That's it? Just…sure?"

Kate finally put down the folder and looked up at Megan.

"What do you want me to say?" she shrugged.

"Nothing it's just…not usually this easy."

"I trust you," Kate smiled reassuringly.

Megan still looked at her like she had three heads.

"You do?" she mused. "Good."

"Send me the report when you're finished," Kate continued to grin, before returning her gaze to the files.

Megan couldn't let it go. She'd noticed Kate had been in a much better mood recently, and figured this was as good a time as any to find out why.

"You've been all smiles the past couple of days," Megan noted. "Who is he?"

Kate rolled her eyes, but continued to smirk. She knew it would be better to keep it to herself, but…

"If you must know," the blonde sighed, knowing full well she had every intention of telling Megan all along. "Her name is Erica."

"Erica?" Megan felt her stomach drop ten inches within her body. Her eyebrows shot up. "You mean….like…a woman…Erica?"

"Yes," Kate confirmed matter-of-factly.

Megan decided to take a seat.

"Wait…" she spoke more softly. "So you're…"

"Not constrained by gender when it comes to relationships? No."

"Huh."

Suddenly, Megan began flashing back to a million little moments between them. Arguing, making up. Arguing, making up again. Teasing each other over coffee in the break room. Touching unnecessarily as they reenacted scenarios in the lab. Getting undressed together during the quarantine for Marburg, though they'd turned their backs. Crying in front of her in the hospital lobby when she'd heard "Rocket Man" on the radio. Holding her hand when she thought she might lose her.

The thought of losing her.

It was a dizzying flood. She had never fathomed that there could be anything more, certainly not…Did she say?

"Relationship?" Megan swallowed. "Taking things pretty fast, aren't you?"

"Not exactly," Kate corrected. "We've known each other a couple of weeks. We've only been on one date so far, but it's been…fun."

Megan wanted desperately to know how much "fun." The thought made her skin burn.

"Wait a second," the redhead put her hand up. "Erica? That's not the lawyer you've been consulting? The one Ethan's been drooling over?"

Kate rolled her eyes again, but nodded.

"I see," Megan nodded back, biting her lip. "You must have a thing for lawyers."

Kate scoffed at the dig about Todd.

"Actually, I try to avoid them. That's just who tends to show up."

Megan continued to look at her a little curiously, drumming her fingers against her leather skirt.

"So," she continued, trying to find a seemingly innocuous question. "What do the two of you talk about?"

Kate scowled again.

"Why are you interrogating me?"

"I'm not!" Megan defended. "Forget it, I don't want to…"

"We have similar backgrounds," Kate gave in.

Megan shifted.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning…." she tried to find the best way to say it. "We both know what it's like to struggle."

"Oh, so she's not some spoiled rich kid? Like Todd." Or me, she didn't say, but somehow Kate knew it was implied.

"Okay, Megan," Kate put her hands flat on the desk in front of her. She was done for now. "Let's not go there."

"What do you mean?" Megan asked. "I thought we shared things. You and I have known each other for how long now? Going on four years? Sometimes I feel like I don't know anything about you. "

Kate was taken aback. The comment stung. She realized that as much time as they'd spent together, it was true. They really didn't know each other that well. So why did she feel such a strong connection? Rather than show how much it hurt, however, she turned to anger.

"What do you want me say?" Kate raised her voice a little. "What is it that you need to know about me? That I was probably one of 'the bad kids' you'd watch from your fancy car when you were sixteen? That I could barely afford going to public school half the time? That my parents couldn't have cared less about me? Is that enough?"

"That's a start," Megan spat, though she was sympathetic. "My father killed himself, remember? So before you go judging …"

"I didn't …"

"That's what it sounded like."

"I don't want to argue," Kate sighed. "You needed a test. I gave it to you. Why are we still having this conversation?"

"I don't know," Megan fumed. "But I'm perfectly fine with ending it."

She turned around and left abruptly. Kate looked after her, a little stunned. She knew she had acted inappropriately, but Megan seemed to know exactly how to push her buttons. Still, all the woman wanted was to get to know her better. Why now? Kate thought. Is she actually jealous? Kate realized that was exactly what she was trying to do, make Megan jealous, as much as she hated herself for it. She hadn't even expected a reaction.

She shook her head, unable to face what any of it meant. Even if Megan did have feelings for her, things were way too complicated. They rarely got along. Maybe that's because we're both constantly trying to fight it, she couldn't help but wonder. Regardless, being with Erica was much less of a hassle. With her, everything was already out on the table. She texted her later that afternoon, asking to see her again before their next consultation, to which Erica enthusiastically agreed.

That evening, Kate found herself in Erica's living room after a very long day.

"You want coffee?" Erica asked, sitting on the couch next to her. "I can make it really strong."

The brunette put a hand on Kate's thigh, over her tan slacks, and began rubbing gently. Kate ignored it for the moment.

"I probably shouldn't this late," Kate swallowed. "Might keep me awake."

"I don't plan on sleeping anytime soon," Erica smiled, tracing her nails down to Kate's knee, then back up her leg. "Do you?"

Uncomplicated, Kate thought. This was exactly what she wanted. This was exactly what she wanted to want.

She turned to Erica with a look that meant she was game. Erica buried her hands in Kate's wavy blonde locks and pulled her in, kissing her hard, but with enough finesse to make Kate's temperature rise a bit. She returned the kiss, letting her tongue slip inside Erica's mouth, attempting to push her back against the arm of the couch so she could straddle her, but Erica was much too fast and a lot stronger. Before Kate knew it, she was laying on her back and having her neck sucked, nibbled, while Erica's hands traveled down her shoulders, then her arms, only stopping when they reached her hands. Erica pulled them around her. Kate took the opportunity to lift the woman's shirt over her head, revealing a black lace bra with breasts threatening to spill over. The blonde attempted to lick the swells hovering above her face, but Erica pulled up, just out of reach, and smirked, still pinning Kate's hands.

"You're not used to this are you?" Erica noted.

"What?" Kate mumbled as she closed her eyes and felt Erica's hands working their way under her sweater, sliding over her stomach then climbing the mounds of her breasts, resting there for a moment.

"Not being in control," Erica bit Kate's bottom lip as she squeezed, letting her thumbs slip below the lace and brush teasingly over her nipples. Kate arched her back and squirmed a little but refused to moan, refused to give in as much as her body needed.

"Tell me what you want," Erica whispered, dragging her teeth against Kate's ear.

"I want…" Kate managed to speak as Erica conducted a symphony with her tongue against her pulse point. "To feel."

"Feel?"

"Yes," Kate sighed, digging her nails into Erica's shoulders. She couldn't believe she was allowing herself to be topped. It was not in her nature, but she needed to go on autopilot right now.

"Like this," Erica let her hand slip between them, tracing her nails past Kate's belly button, over her zipper, into the warm space between her thighs, pressing down against the fabric. Kate's eyelids fluttered again, and she shifted into Erica's fingers, tilting her head back until she couldn't see her. She tried to get lost in the feeling of being taken, but for some reason, it was not working as well as it had in the past.

Taking things pretty fast, aren't you? She heard Megan's voice in her head even as she felt Erica's hot breath against her stomach and the top button of her trousers coming undone. Kate ignored the voice, letting her pants slip down her legs. She was way too secure in her sexual autonomy to feel judged.

I thought we shared things.

Kate put one hand over her eyes, as if somehow that would help block out the images of red and ivory that flashed behind her lids, the piercing looks and sensuous smiles. Nothing seemed to work.

Except for her phone ringing just as Erica was about to remove her underwear.

"I have to get that," Kate grumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," the blonde said a little more pointedly.

Erica sighed, sitting up, knowing better than to argue with that tone.

Kate reached down into her purse next to the sofa and pulled out her cell. It was Peter.

"We've got a body at the racetrack," he told her. "How quickly can you get here?"

"Um," she looked at the time and her state of undress. "Thirty minutes?"

"Hurry," Peter sighed. "Megan's already on her way."

Kate took a deep breath and hung up. She turned back to Erica, who was looking defeated, but only a little.

"I have to go," Kate whispered. She tried to sound more disappointed than she felt.

"Duty calls," Erica smiled, kissing her again briefly. Kate smiled too. The woman really was fantastic. "Think you'll be back?"

"I wouldn't wait up," Kate said as she stood, pulling her pants back on and fixing her hair.

She leaned down and gave Erica one more kiss before heading out.

When Kate got to Philadelphia Park, Peter was already snapping pictures. She spotted him and Megan near the lake at the center of the racetrack, across the grassy area at the interior. She quickly made her way over the dirt and onto the green, her tan coat blowing in the wind as a light snow fell.

As she approached, Megan turned around. They hadn't spoken since earlier in the day when they'd fought. Kate tried her best to appear unfazed by the snowflakes landing adorably in Megan's hair. Somehow the moon brought out the gold flecks in her green eyes, giving her skin just the right lighting. The redhead looked at Kate briefly, nose twitching a little from the wind, before she turned back to the lake. Kate's heart sunk.

The water had almost turned to ice. The thinnest layer of slush covered the surface, except for the hole near the side where they were standing, through which a face floated to the top.

"Who do we have?" Kate asked, knowing they likely hadn't made an ID, but needing to say something.

"Either someone who works here or knows someone who does," Megan answered. "Considering the park's been closed for months."

Kate nodded, watching as the crew from the police department worked at fishing out the body. She turned around and stared at the track, remembering the first time she was there. She must have been at least eleven. Her father usually left her with one of the neighbors, but if they weren't available, he had no qualms bringing her to the smoke-filled hall while he wasted away most of the money they needed to eat. She would choose the horses by name, sitting silently by as her father devised his own strategies, which ultimately failed. Though she knew better than to offer him advice, her picks usually won. She realized then she had some kind of luck, even if her present circumstances indicated otherwise. She imagined herself sitting in one of the expensive boxes at the Derby, drinking champagne in a big floppy hat while she raked in her winnings. It seemed like a long shot in comparison to the paint-chipped table she sat at then, eating Saltine crackers she'd sneak away from the raw bar while Frank Murphy chugged back another one, growing angrier and angrier.

Kate was jerked away from her thoughts as she felt herself slip, her heel sinking into the wet mud. She gasped as she momentarily saw herself falling into the cold, dark water. Megan threw her arms around Kate's waist and pulled her back, steadying them against the railing. Kate's heart jumped into overdrive at the surge of fear, embarrassment, and longing. Megan's fingers dug into her back as she held her close, refusing to let go until she knew she could stand on her own.

"You okay?" she asked.

Kate shook her head yes, though she was still trying to catch her breath.

"Weren't you the one who said we've had enough close calls?" Megan smirked, slowly releasing her grip, smoothing her hands down Kate's arms and patting her on the shoulder. Kate's cheeks burned wildly.

"I'm alright," she coughed. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Megan turned back to the lake, where they were finally pulling out the form of a woman from the icy water.

Kate felt the loss of Megan's touch so deeply it made her shiver more than the weather. She tried to look for any remaining signs of warmth on Megan's face, only noting that her cheeks were red too.

"Megan," Kate swallowed. "Earlier, this morning, I didn't mean to…"

"No worries," Megan huffed a little coldly. "You're right. It's none of my business."

"But we're not just colleagues," Kate tried to do damage control. She wanted Megan to care. "We're… friends. I shouldn't have jumped on you like that."

Megan shifted. Kate watched the corners of her mouth turn up.

"Friends don't have to tell each other everything," Megan mused.

Kate's eyebrow rose. "Well, no. But the important things."

"Like who we're attracted to?" Megan glared at her playfully.

Kate rolled her eyes and laughed a little. She was sure Megan was referring to her sexual orientation. She had to be, but the double entendres were a little much, considering.

"Two cases at once," Bud shook his head as he joined them. "We haven't solved the Ellis Friedman murder yet, and now this."

"I guess there's no chance they're related?" Peter chimed in as he wrapped up his survey of the scene.

"Unlikely," Kate answered.

"We just happen to live in a city where people don't like each other very much," Megan joked ominously.

Once the body was loaded into the van, they all retreated to their various posts, determined to solve at least one of these murders by the end of the week.