Chapter 40

Kat stood at the edge of the bluffs, looking down the steep side. One year ago she nearly died right there. She closed her eyes as the 'Angel Killer's' raspy deep voice filled her mind once more, the feel of his arms around her. His tongue sliding up her ear.

She'd been very, very lucky that night; somehow she hadn't died or even been seriously hurt. Her leg still had the scar, but then again her whole body was a mass of scars now. Jason did his best to reassure her that she was still beautiful, and given time the ugly pink scars would fade.

There was a part of her that accepted the scars as they were. They reminded her of the other women that hadn't survived their encounter with Tyler Jacobson. They were a reminder of her strength and will to survive.

Yet the other part of her hated seeing them. They only served as a reminder that it wasn't a nightmare, that it had all actually happened. They reminded her that a mad man had abused her in the worst way all because of what she looked like.

Even after all the months, Kat still didn't fully understand what drove Tyler to become obsessed with her. What drove him to murder all those women. She'd finally decided that it was something that she would never understand, and just hoped that he was burning in hell.

In the months since Tommy and Anna's wedding, many wonderful things had happened around her. John and Heather finally got their baby boy, Andrew. Zack and Kimberly were planning a Christmas wedding. Aisha and Billy announced they were expecting a second baby around the beginning of May. Tommy and Anna has settled in nicely as husband and wife and were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their baby mid-January, which they'd already found out was a boy.

Katherine opened her eyes once again and looked down into the valley again. She could almost see Tyler sitting there with her in his arms, waiting for her die, unable to finish her off himself. She didn't think about him as much as she used to, but he was still there; lurking in the dark recesses of her mind. Waiting for her to have a momentary lapse in thought so he could break back into the forefront of her mind.

With a final glance around the area, Kat made her way back to her car. Silently she drove back down the winding roads of the bluffs and back into the city limits. Lilly would be home soon, and she needed to be there to meet the bus.

Kat smiled as she thought of the little girl. Lilly had become very close to Katherine, often bonding over dance or martial arts. Kat was happy to teach Lilly anything she wanted to know. She had no doubts now that she could be a step-mother for Lilly. She loved Jason's daughter with all her heart.

As she pulled into her driveway, she noticed a black car sitting beside the mailbox. Cautiously, Kat got out of her car and walked toward the car. To her surprise, Russ got out of the drivers side.

"Russ!" Kat greeted as she gave him a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how the boss lady was handling retirement." Russ grinned.

"I'm doing well. Come on in, have some coffee."

"That sounds good, thanks." Russ grinned as he followed the tall blonde into the large house. "Where's Scott?"

"At work." Kat replied as she took off her jacket, hanging it on the closet handle.

"And what do you do while he's working?"

"Pretty much whatever I want." Kat shrugged. "I spend a lot of time in the studio he built for me."

"Don't you get bored?"

"Sometimes." Kat shrugged. "But it's not like there's a lot of jobs I want to do. Jason and I aren't hurting for money right now and he's more than happy to give me the space and time that I need."

"I see." Russ nodded.

"You don't approve." Kat laughed.

"Doesn't matter if I do." Russ shrugged.

"But you still don't."

"I just have a hard time picturing you as the little housewife is all." Russ commented as Kat placed a cup of coffee in front of him. "You've always been so driven and devoted to your job, it's just hard to think of you as anything but busy."

"I've thought about getting a job or something, but honestly, I was an agent for so long I don't think I can do anything else."

"Have you thought about coming back to the bureau?"

"I just can't Russ." Kat shook her head. "Have they picked a new assistant director for DC yet?"

"Yeah, Darren Lopez from Chicago."

"He's good, I worked a case with him before I went to New York." Kat nodded.

"Word is that you were top pick for that position. Everyone knew it."

"Well, even if I hadn't left the bureau, I would have turned down the position. I have a life here now. I love Jason and Lilly with all my heart, I couldn't see myself walking out on them now."

"I'm happy for you boss."

"You know I'm not your boss anymore." Kat laughed. "You can call me Kat."

"Old habits die hard." Russ grinned.

"So are you going to tell me why you're really here." Kat raised an eyebrow. "You didn't travel all the way across the country to check on me."

"I was in the area so I figured it would be nice to check on you in person." Russ nodded.

"Working?"

"Yeah." Russ nodded.

"What's the case?"

"You know I can't tell you." Russ shook his head.

"Off the record, no one will ever know you talked to me." Kat grinned as she held up her right hand.

"It's a one in a million case." Russ explained as he leaned forward in his seat. "Suspect is female, killed five men. The trail leads to California, so here I am."

"Wow, not very many female serial killers. What's her MO?"

"Strangling. Which is very hard since the men she's killed are all big guys. She has her way with them before hand and then after they're gone she's cuts off their... you know what."

"That's horrible." Kat's eyes widened. "A real man hater."

"Yeah, Smithy thinks that we're looking for a woman who's been abused since childhood."

"Smithy?"

"My new psych specialist." Russ shrugged. "Lauren Smith, she just transferred from..."

"Florida." Kat interrupted him.

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"She was on my list of potential team members, but I went with Rachel instead." Kat sighed. "Smith is good."

"We all miss her." Russ said after a few moments of silence.

"Have you seen her at all?"

"Not for a while. They really don't like us visiting her. Her lawyer says that we only serve to confuse her more." Russ shook his head. "Dell writes to her often though. I still think he had feelings for her."

"He probably did." Kat nodded.

"How's Dunham?"

"Tom's fine. Starting dating a girl at the station, Janis I believe is her name. Although I suspect that he misses Rachel more than he lets on."

"They want Scott and Dunham to testify against Rachel in her trial."

"Have they actually set a date?"

"Yeah, that's actually another reason I'm here." Russ nodded. "Her trial starts October 14th."

"Wanted to warn me." Kat nodded slowly as she released a sharp breath.

"They're trying her here in California, in LA."

"I'm guessing Tyler James had something to do with that."

"You guessed it." Russ nodded. "His lawyer has been petitioning the courts since she was arrested, he finally won. They're trying her for accessory to murder and obstruction of justice."

"That's bullshit!" Kat shot up as she turned around from him, slamming her fists into the wall. "Obstruction sure, but accessory?! They're burning her at the stake as if she were the one using the knife!"

"It was her cabin you were taken to Katherine." Russ shook his head. "She knowingly withheld information that could have helped up catch her brother."

"But Russ."

"Think about your new little family, Lilly's mother." Russ stood up and moved right in front of her. "Elizabeth Scott would still be alive today if Rachel had said something the moment she had a suspicion. Lilly would still have her mother. You would never have been taken to that cabin."

"I..." Kat paused and sighed, her shoulders falling in defeat.

"I know this isn't easy for you Katherine." Russ gently took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "They're going to call you to the stand too. You're listed as the star witness, as the only survivor of the 'Angel Killer' and Rachel's former boss. Both sides want to use you."

"I don't want to be a part of it." Kat shook her head and pulled away from Russ. "I won't testify. I won't."

"Katherine, they can make you. You'll be treated as a hostile witness and they can hold you in contempt."

"You're here to serve me, aren't you?" Kat asked quietly. "It's a two for one trip. You were working in the area and they asked you to serve me, didn't they?"

"Yes." Russ nodded and took out a folded paper, laying it gently on the table next to them. "There's one for Jason as well."

"You've served me, now you need to leave." Kat looked away from him, fighting back her tears.

"As you wish." Russ replied. "It was good to see you again."

"You too." Kat nodded slowly as she watched her former team member walk out her door. Her eyes flicked back to the summons laying on the table, unable to hold back her tears anymore she lowered herself to the floor against the wall and cried.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hi Daddy!" Lilly greeted as Jason walked into the house.

"Hi Lilly-pad. How was your day?" Jason asked as he scooped his daughter up into his arms.

"Good, I made a picture for you today." Lilly grinned. "It's on the fridge."

"Oh, what's it of?" Jason laughed.

"Our family. You and me and Kat and Mommy up in heaven."

"I better take a look at that." Jason set the little girl down and followed her into the kitchen, half expecting to see Kat fixing dinner, which she wasn't. "Lil, where's Kat?"

"Um, I think she went outside a little bit ago." Lilly shrugged before grabbing her drawing off the fridge. "See?"

"That's wonderful Lilly-pad." Jason grinned as he looked at his daughter's drawing. Even at six, Lilly showed great artistic skills. While others her age where drawing stick figures she was drawing fairly realistic people. She got that from her mother, Liz had been an excellent artist. "Has Kat started dinner yet? It's almost six."

"No." Lilly shook her head. "She seems sad today Daddy, like she's trying not to cry."

"Thanks Lilly." Jason nodded. "I'll call for pizza, why don't you go watch your movie."

"Breadsticks too?"

"Of course breadsticks too." Jason laughed. Lilly grinned and scampered off toward the den where her movie was still playing on the television. Jason picked up the phone and called for a pizza and Lilly's precious breadsticks before heading outside to find Kat.

He found her laying in one of the lounge chairs, staring at the sky as it grew dark. Slowly and cautiously he sat on the edge of the chair by her knees. He placed one of his large hands over her knee and gave her a gentle squeeze. She didn't reply or even move.

"Kat, you okay?" Jason asked after a moment more of silence.

"No." Kat replied briskly, her tone low and loaded with emotion.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Kat, you know you can talk to me." Jason sighed. He wondered what had set her off today, she hadn't had an episode like this in months.

"Do you know what today is?"

"September 14th." Jason shrugged, just before his midnight eyes grew wide. Kat still was staring up at the sky, unmoving and barely acknowledging that he was there. "Kat, I'm so sorry. I didn't think about what today meant, I would have stayed home..."

"No, it's not... that's not bugging me too much." Kat finally sat up and looked at him. "Russ was here today."

"Did something happen? Is that why you're out here, zoning out?"

"He... He served me." Kat shook her head. "A summons to Rachel's trial next month."

"Kat, you knew that they would want you to testify." Jason said softly.

"I don't want to." Kat shook her head. "I can finally go a whole day without thinking of that bastard. Without reliving what he did to me in that cabin. And now they want me to go in front of everyone and talk about it. I don't think so."

"Oh Kat." Jason sighed.

"There's one for you too." Kat added.

"I figured there would be."

"Jason, please don't make me do this. I can't... I can't get up on that stand and talk about it." Kat begged. "I haven't... I can't... They can't make me remember."

Jason silently watched his fiance, her eyes wide and tearful. He hadn't seen her like this in months, it was almost unbearable. "I wish I could stop them Kat."

"Can't we get Dr. Jeffery to say I'm too mentally unstable to testify?" Kat chewed on her bottom lip.

"Kat, if you go that route..." Jason sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, letting his stubble scratch against his palm. "Are you sure that's what you want to do Kat?"

"I'm not sure what I should do Jason. I just can't relive the nightmare I have finally come to terms with and I can't testify against Rach." Kat hung her head, letting her hands fall into her lap. She idly twisted her fingers together as she let out another long breath. "She was my friend once, I can't let the crucify her for something she didn't actually do. They're treating her like she's the one that held the knife."

"We knew it was going to be bad for her." Jason said softly as he took her hands in his, she lifted her gaze to meet his. "Without you, they'll hang her for sure. Your testimony could save her Kat. Only you know just how crazy Tyler truly was, he even told you that Rachel didn't know the extent of what he did."

"I know." Kat sobbed as the first tear rolled down her cheek. Jason quickly wiped it away, letting his hand linger on her cheek. She nuzzled her cheek against his palm. "Promise me that you'll be with me, every step of this."

"No doubt Snowflake. I promise that you won't have to face this, or anything ever again, alone. I'm always here, right beside you." Jason nodded before leaning in and pressing a delicate kiss to her lips. His hand slipped down and around to cradle the back of her neck.

"I love you." Kat whispered after Jason's lips released hers.

"I love you more." Jason replied. "Come on, I ordered pizza. It should be here any moment."

"Breadsticks too, I hope."

"Really, what is with you girls and breadsticks?" Jason rolled his eyes. "Of course there's breadsticks."

"Good." Kat grinned as she let Jason lead her back into their house.