Author's Notes:- Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

Unfortunately this I the end the chapters I know what I'm writing. A few of the future ones are planned but this means it might be a while before the next update.

Enjoy.

The sun was shining as Nathan sat in the small beach bar watching the waves while he sipped his coffee. A shadow crossed him and looking up he saw his 'niece' standing there.

"Problem?" he asked.

"We need to talk," she told him seriously, sliding into the seat beside him.

Nathan frowned, he knew this was not a good thing and braced himself for the worst.

"We have a slight problem," Kate started, "With Brody."

Nathan winced, "What kind of problem?"

"Well, he's checking up on me a lot," Kate told him, "He's watching me, I'm pretty sure he's had a check done on my background and he's scanning my logs."

"Are you sure?" Nathan demanded, frowning at the slight guilty look that crossed her face, "Kate?"

"I might have installed a little program to make sure I was made aware if anyone got a little too interested in me," Kate confessed, "One of my specialties is security systems, remember?"

"Get on with it."

Kate sighed, "It's making life difficult. He's dogging my steps and if you need me to do something…unusual it won't be easy."

"I'll speak to him," Nathan promised, sighing as she winced, "What?"

"Might not be the best idea," Kate told him, "I have an idea why he's so suspicious of me."

Nathan groaned, why was this always so complicated?

"A few months before I arrived at the island," Kate told him, "I was hired to bypass security on a UEO function to steal some codes. My part went fine. Unfortunately I was working with idiots."

"Kate," Nathan told her with a long suffering sigh, "Could you get to the point?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "As I was getting out I ran into a UEO security officer."

"Brody?"

"Brody. And…let's just say he came off worse in the meeting," Kate confirmed, "I don't think he even recognises me because I was Kitten at the time, she looks and sounds completely different from me."

Nathan shook his head, "That sounds insane."

"I know," Kate admitted, "I thought you needed to know."

He nodded, "I'll talk to Jonathan and we'll see what we can do. Just try and get along with him."

"I will," she grimaced checking her watch, "I better go. I'm working on some WSKR improvements with Miguel."

Nathan watched her leave. There were days he sometimes couldn't believe that she was the same person he found lying in a pool of her own blood battered and broken. Then were times, like now, when he could.

"She's amazing isn't she?" a strange voice said from behind him making Nathan turn to find a man standing above him, they were close in age although the man still had light brown hair amongst the grey and a deep tan covered his skin, "But my Kitten always was."

Kate found Nathan sitting at the same table she'd left him at about two hours before. She had been a little bemused when Ford had told her Nathan needed to see her.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly at the serious expression on his face.

He sighed, "Kate, there's someone nearby who wants to talk to you. I said I'd bring you but if you don't want to see him you don't have to."

Confusion filled her and Kate followed his hand when he pointed towards another table on the opposite side of the beach bar. Kate stared at the two men sitting there before turning to Nathan.

"Who are they?"

"He said it might take a minute or two," Nathan told her, "Just think about it."

Still confused Kate looked back at the two men, one was lean with closely shaved hair while the other slightly heavier with salt and pepper hair. Recognition flooded her and she gasped surging to her feet, "Harkens!"

She spun to Nathan who nodded, "He wants to see you."

"And you have no problem with this?" she asked stalling for time.

Nathan shrugged, "It's your choice. I know that I can't stop you if you want to see them."

She closed her eyes and nodded, "Okay."

"Do you want me to come?"

Kate hesitated. In some ways it would be good to have his support but Kate also knew there was far too much about her past that she didn't want him to know about so she shook her head.

"It's okay," she assured him, "I'll be back on the Seaquest before it's time to leave."

Nathan nodded gently squeezing her arm for a moment letting her know she could talk to him before he left her alone.

x

Kate walked slowly towards the table where the two men who had raised her were waiting. She wasn't sure how she felt but she couldn't turn back.

"Kate," Harkens stood smiling at her, "Oh, you look good."

She dropped her head for a moment before looking up at him, "What do you want?"

"We wanted to see you," he told her softly, "Do you have any idea how much we miss you?"

Kate looked up at him, "You miss me? You abandoned me almost ten years ago and before that all I was to you was your pet" she snarled at him, "Your little Kitten."

"Kate…"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand, "This was a mistake."

Kate turned and walked away. She wasn't sure where she was going but she couldn't go back to the boat yet. Finally she found a bench in the park nearby where she sank down to sit. She grimaced as a man sat beside her.

"What do you want, Mac?"

"Do you really think that's all you were to us?" Mac asked her, "A pet?"

Kate shook her head, "That's the way it seemed. Mac, from day one I knew that someday you would leave me as well. You guys raised me so I knew if I'd done well or not by which one of you talked to me after a job."

Mac reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, it was something Nathan did at times and she was stunned to realise Mac also did it whenever they talked.

"We made mistakes," Mac admitted, "But when we first took you in…" he sighed, "You were scared, Kate you didn't trust anyone. When we took you to Dionne's café for something to eat you stole a knife to protect yourself."

"I don't remember that," she admitted.

"Of course you don't," Mac chuckled, "Those first few days you barely slept. After everything that had happened to you, after what Kincaid did to you…"

Kate stared at him, "You knew?"

Mac laughed, "Of course we knew, Kate. Sophie Kincaid's picture was all over the news which was why we cut your hair, dyed it and removed the birthmark from your shoulder."

She stared into the distance for a moment before turning to him, "Then I guess I should talk to Harkens."

x

Kate stepped into the beach house and stopped instantly as she saw her picture sitting above the mantelpiece along with several others scattered around the room. Harkens stood and smiled as she walked in.

"Hi," she said softly.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while," Mac said, he gently patted Kate's arm before disappearing into another room.

"Do you want to sit?" Harkens asked.

Kate chose the seat and sat stiffly there waiting for him to talk.

"I must admit I was stunned to see you with the captain of the Seaquest," he started, "I knew you were no longer working as Kitten but it was stunning to find out you were working on the UEO flagship."

"You knew that I knew Nathan," Kate replied, "And that he had saved me from Mason. When I had nowhere else to go, after my step-father tried to kill me he took me in."

"Kincaid tried to what?"

Kate waved it away, "I don't want to talk about it. You left me alone, you and Mac were all I had and you left."

He dropped his head, "I'm sorry."

"What did I do?" she demanded, "Because I could never really please you. You always found something to pick at and all I wanted was to make you proud. Why couldn't I?"

He sighed, "Honey, I didn't want you to make me proud by being like me. I hated that we brought you into that life."

Kate stared at him confused.

"When we first took you in I told Mac we were going to get you something to eat then take you to social services," Harkens explained, "You were a stray and we didn't need the distraction of a kid."

"Then why keep me?"

"We realised who you were," he confessed, "Mac persuaded me that we should keep you safe."

Kate let out a snort of derision, "So you didn't want me. Wow, this conversation is really making me feel good."

He chuckled, "It didn't take me long before I loved you and I hated that the only way I could protect you was to train you to be Kitten. But you know the world we lived in."

Kate nodded and she didn't move away when he stepped towards her pulling her into a hug.

x

The three of them sat and talked for a few more hours before Kate realised she had to go otherwise the Seaquest would leave without her.

"I need you to do one favour for me," Harkens said after she'd hugged them goodbye.

"I won't betray Nathan," she stated coldly, "Not even for you."

He shook his head, "I know. What I want is for you to keep in touch with us. Let us know how you are and come to see us once in a while."

"I will," Kate nodded, smiling as the two men who had raised her hugged her tightly once more.

Heading back to the Seaquest Kate thought over everything they'd talked about, smiling as Nathan just happened to be there when the shuttle docked.

"You cut it close," he noted when she reached him.

"We had a lot to talk about," she shrugged before smiling at him, "Thank you. It was good seeing them again but time to get back to work."