Kate shuffled out of his bedroom while he was finishing the last of his breakfast and he tried not to stare – again – at the way his clothes draped so perfectly over her lithe body as she came towards him.

"Morning, sleep okay?" he asked from the kitchen.

She nodded, running her fingers through the tangles in her hair and sighing drowsily.

"Listen, you know I hate to leave you here with nothing to do, but I made you breakfast," he said, pointing to the pan of scrambled eggs, bacon, and the plate of pancakes on the bar. He didn't know what she liked. "Oh, I also got you this." He grabbed his messenger bag off the barstool and dug out the brand new iPhone he had bought her and set it on the countertop. "Sorry I forgot to give it to you last night. My number's already in the contact list, as well as your dad's and the boys'. Call me anytime, no matter what, even if you're just bored, I'll answer. I'll be back by five tonight, I'll bring you dinner, or we can go get dinner, and then we can go for a walk before it gets dark. You can text or call me later, let me know what you're in the mood for-"

She strode up to him and caught the back of his neck with gentle fingers. Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed an impulsive kiss to his lips that caused him to completely forget about anything else he had planned to say.

Rick rocked back on his heels, but still had enough time to raise his hand, brush his fingertips over one of her cheekbones, before she pulled away.

"I mean it when I say I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," she whispered, dropping back down to the balls of her feet and smiling up at him demurely. "I'll see you after work."

He touched his lips, where hers had been only seconds before, once she had brushed past him. She was wearing his clothes and kissing his lips and no, he wasn't going to survive her throughout her stay here.

Rick sighed tiredly as he heaved his front door open and hung his coat in the closet, resting his head against the doorjamb for a handful of seconds before closing it quietly so not to worsen his already brutal headache.

He'd received condescending looks and disgraced glares from at least half of his staff for the entirety of his eight hour shift and Salazar had come by after lunch, badgered him about forcing Kate to relocate to the rehab center until Rick had finally lost his temper and not so quietly told the older doctor to leave. It had been a long day.

He took a moment to appreciate the quiet solitude of his loft, but then he remembered it shouldn't be quite so noiseless.

"Kate?"

When he received no answer, he set his bag down by the door and stepped into the living room. The slow building worry abated as he glanced down to see she was asleep on the couch, curled into the corner with a throw blanket draped over her hips. He approached her quietly, not wanting to wake her since he knew she was having a hard time adjusting to a proper sleeping schedule. Her naps at the hospital had been erratic, occurring numerous times throughout the day and sometimes causing her to lay restless and awake through the night. But he was sure he recalled her saying this morning that she had slept fine the night before…

Rick knelt beside the couch, wincing as his knees popped, and brushed her hair back behind her ear.

"Kate," he murmured softly, causing her eyebrows to scrunch together. "You should wake up, or you won't be able to sleep tonight."

She released a heavy sigh, but her eyes fluttered open and she graced him with a light smile that made his heart skip at its own volition. He really wished that side effect would fade already.

"How long have you been back?" she rasped.

"Just walked in. I tried to call you about an hour ago."

She frowned and glanced to the coffee table where her iPhone lay face down.

"I'm sorry. I must have been sleeping."

"Were you okay today?" he asked, sitting down near her shoulder and she nodded.

"Fine, I had one of those TV dinners from your fridge for lunch, did a little bit of laundry in your complicated washer and dryer, and then watched an entire season of that Game of Thrones show you have on DVD."

"Sounds like a great way to spend your first day of freedom."

She chuckled and rubbed at her eyes before sitting up and smoothing her thumb over his eyebrow. "You don't look so great though, what happened?"

His eyes drifted closed at the soft touch along his brow that trailed down the side of his face, her short fingernails scraping lightly through the stubble along his jaw.

"Just a rough day at work."

She hummed, combed her fingers through his hair until he unconsciously started to tilt towards her.

"I think you're the one who needs a nap, Rick."

He shook his head, blinked a few times to make sure the fuzzy edges of exhaustion had left his vision, and stood up. "If you're up for it, I actually thought we could go on a short walk, grab something to eat."

"Sure," Kate said, but he saw how the prospect of going back outside made her nervous.

"We'll just go through the park, it's less crowded this time of day, and then we can go to this amazing little Italian place nearby."

She nodded, looking at least a tad bit more comfortable with the plan, and rose, started off towards his bedroom.

"Let me just get changed."

Rick made some coffee while she was gone, divided the pot between two thermals and added some vanilla creamer and cinnamon to hers. Kate returned minutes later as he was securing the lids, wearing a fresh pair of jeans that she had to cinch a belt around and a long sleeved Henley with the boots she had worn yesterday. He hoped to fatten her up a little while she was staying with him, get some high calorie foods in her system to help put some weight on her naturally slim body.

Rick handed her the coffee, held her coat up for her, and wordlessly took her hand as he led her out of the loft. Eduardo waved to them as they stepped out and Kate forced a smile for his doorman, did the same with the officer in the unmarked in front of his building while Rick quickly explained where they were going and when they would be back.

They walked in companionable silence through their short travel from his loft to the park less than a mile away. Foot traffic was heavy, as it always was, and Kate listed into him the more she was nudged and jostled by fellow civilians. Eventually, he gave in and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, suppressed a smile when he felt her body begin to ease up against his.

He let her go and reclaimed her hand once they entered the park, which was relatively less congested, and heard her breath a loud sigh of relief.

"Better?"

"Yeah, it's not so bad here."

Beckett was almost able to relax completely as they strolled through the park for fifteen minutes, admiring her surroundings instead of wincing at them, mostly. The occasional bird rustling through the trees or jogger sprinting past still tended to put her on the defense.

"I called Montgomery today," she murmured when they were only a little ways from the exit and he glanced down to her, already reading the bad news in her face before she spoke it. "He wants me to spend at least another month recovering before I apply for reinstatement."

"It'll pass by quickly," he tried to say encouragingly, but Kate cast her eyes to the ground.

"I could be dead in a month."

Rick stopped, pulling her to a halt as well. She stared back at him with dark eyes that fell stark contrast to the pristine white snow flurries that were beginning to fall and catch in her hair.

"Don't say that."

"Rick-"

"No," he said seriously, tugging her close by the hand. "Ryan and Esposito are doing everything they can to crack Coonan and we've got an unmarked outside my place-"

"Because that's going to stop a hired assassin?" she challenged quietly. "I don't know why they want me dead, what I may have done two years ago to gain this kind of attention, but these guys aren't just going to back off."

"And you think being at the precinct would change this?" Rick questioned, doing his best to keep his voice low and level.

She pursed her lips and looked away, down to the barely touched container of coffee her fingers had been curled around for warmth. "It would be better than doing nothing while my mother's killer remains free and I continue to have a target on my back."

"Kate, you're not-"

"And what are you going to do when they come for me again?" she demanded, voice rising with simmering fury. "Jump in front of the bullet?" she snapped, wrenching her hand from his and turning on her heel.

He strode after her as she stalked off, caught up to her in just a few steps, just in time to literally catch her as she stumbled. Rick hooked his arm around her waist, pulled her back against his chest.

"No," she choked, letting him hold her up even as she tried to push him away. "Everybody's gone, and they're going to - you're not-"

"Breathe," he murmured into her hair. She was getting worked up and after all the walking they'd been doing, it was going to cause her body to give out. "Kate, I'm not going anywhere. We're going to get through this. Now take a deep breath."

She followed his instruction and inhaled slowly, turned into him as her breathing quieted and calmed.

"We're going to get through this," he repeated, and it took a moment, but she reluctantly nodded her head, whether she believed it herself or not. "For now, let's get some food in you and then we'll go home."

She sighed shakily into the crook of his neck and he squeezed her hip when she murmured her assent. They wordlessly walked out of the park, arms linked but still so much distance between them as they continued down the street to the Italian restaurant he had mentioned earlier.

"I'll find them," she said suddenly before they went inside, fierce resolution burning away the fear that had shadowed her eyes just minutes before. "And I want you with me when I do."

He tightened his grip on her hand, circled his thumb over the thriving pulse of her wrist. This wasn't a promise he should be making her.

"I will be."