Author's Notes: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
Enjoy.
The streets were quiet as the Seaquest crew on shore leave made their way into town.
"You do know rest and relaxation applies to you too, right?" Kate asked Nathan as they walked along the street towards the hotel.
He shook his head amused, "I'm actually looking forward to the lecture."
"Don't tell me what it's about again," Kate pleaded with mock agony, "I fall asleep half way through the title."
Nathan frowned at her before asking, "What do you have planned?"
"There's someone I want to visit," Kate told him, "Then I'm meeting Tim for lunch."
"Whose suggestion was it?" he asked.
Kate smiled, "His. He's obviously got over whatever was bothering him."
They reached the hotel and Nathan gave her a quick one armed hug, "Have a good day."
"I will," she told him, "See you back at the boat."
x
The café wasn't empty but it wasn't too busy either when Kate walked through the door. The barrage of memories that came with walking into it made her smile slightly.
She forced her smile away when Dionne noticed her.
"Well, well, well, hello again little Kitten," Dionne greeted as she walked over to her.
Kate folded her arms across her chest, "I believe we had this conversation the last time I was here."
Dionne returned the cool look with a slight smile, "Are you here for lunch or just to take up space in my place?"
"I'm meeting a friend for lunch," Kate replied with the same cool tone.
Dionne motioned the table in the corner, "I'll send a waitress over to you."
Kate sat and watched the door, she hadn't realised until now why she'd told Tim to meet her here. Sure it was the best food around but the real reason was to show Dionne that she was better being Kate than she was being Kitten.
"Hi, Kate," the waitress said when she came over, a shy smile on her face.
Kate stared at her, surprise in her eyes, "Rain?"
"Actually, it's Emma," the girl told her with a shy smile, "It's good to see you again. I never got the chance to thank you for bringing me here."
Kate smiled, "You're welcome. I'm glad to see you're doing well."
"I'm doing better than well," Emma told her, "Dionne sent me back to school."
"Good."
"I should get back to work," Emma handed her a menu, "I'll give you a minute."
Kate took the menu, "I'll need another one. I'm meeting a friend."
Emma placed a second menu on the table before heading away to another customer.
x
Tim grimaced hoping he'd found the right place. Kate had insisted they come here for lunch telling him it was the best food he'd ever taste. They'd promised Miguel to bring him something back, since he had drawn the short straw and had to do some maintenance before his leave.
The café was busy and he frowned when he couldn't see Kate in the crowd.
"Hi," a woman came over to him, her dark eyes scanning him quickly, "I think I can find a table for you."
"I'm actually meeting someone," Tim told her relieved when he heard Kate call him waving him to a table in the corner.
He caught a look in the woman's eyes he couldn't interpret but quickly made his way through the tables to join Kate. He slid into the seat across from her a little confused that the woman followed and stood looking down at Kate expectantly.
Kate let out an annoyed sigh, "Tim, I'd like you to meet Dionne. She owns this place and is an old friend. Dee, this is Tim. My friend from the Seaquest."
"Hi?" Tim said, a little bemused by the look he was being given.
Dionne nodded, "I'll leave you to decide what you want to eat."
When she left Kate let out an annoyed sigh, "I'll be back in a minute."
x
"What the hell was that?" Kate demanded when she followed Dionne into the kitchen.
Dionne turned to her, "What was what?"
"Tim is my friend," Kate stated coldly, "You do not get to treat him like that."
Dionne folded her arms, "What he is, Kate is your attempt to prove me wrong after what I said the last time you were here."
"You really think your opinion matters that much to me?" Kate asked sharply.
Dionne shrugged, "That's something you need to decide."
Angrily Kate returned to the table where Tim was looking through the menu.
"You okay?" he asked.
Kate gave a slight shrug, "Dionne and I had a little disagreement the last time I was here. She's still not letting it go."
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Tim asked, "Even if the food isn't as good, you might be more comfortable."
Kate shook her head smiling fondly at her friend, "No. I'm not moving until she asks me to leave."
She saw Tim wince but he didn't say anything and just turned his attention back to the menu.
Tim had to admit Kate hadn't lied, the food was absolutely incredible. He jumped surprised when Dionne placed two cakes on the table in front of them.
"What's this?" Kate asked innocently.
Tim frowned at her but stayed silent knowing this was something he couldn't interfere in, no matter how much he wanted to tell her to be nice.
"This," Dionne smiled down at her, "Is exactly what you think it is."
When the woman left Kate took one of the cakes, "What?" she asked Tim when he looked at her intently.
"Are you going to tell me why we're actually here?" Tim finally took his cake, "Because I've a feeling it's not just so I could eat here. You don't talk about your past much but I'm guessing this place is a part of it."
Kate sighed, "You are smarter than you look with cream all over your mouth."
Tim hastily wiped his face, "That's not an answer."
"Yes," Kate told him, "I spent a lot of time here as a kid. A lot of it was in that kitchen either peeling things or washing dishes. Dionne was an important part of my life, like you are now and I guess I wanted you to meet."
"Was that so hard to admit?" amusement filled his voice.
Kate glared at him, "Yes."
Tim couldn't stop smiling at her as he finished the cake. He knew so little of Kate's past that getting to see this small piece warmed him making him feel the connection to her was stronger than before.
x
Kate jumped when Dionne placed the cheque on their table, "Trying to get rid of us?"
"I just need the table," Dionne said evasively making Kate frown.
Kate looked around the now nearly empty room, "Really?"
Dionne licked her lips, "Kate…" she glanced to the door and back again.
"Give me a minute," she said to Tim before pulling Dionne to one side, "What? Why are you trying to chase us out of here?"
Before Dionne could answer the bell at the door rang making Kate turn, her eyes widened as two very familiar men walked into the café.
"Harkens," Kate breathed in astonishment, "Mac."
Panic filled her as she turned to where Tim was finishing his tea not paying attention to them thankfully.
"What are they doing here?" Kate whispered harshly.
Dionne grimaced slightly, "I asked them to come. I've got a problem I need their help with."
"And you couldn't have warned me?" Kate snapped.
"I was hoping you'd be gone," Dionne told her, "I wanted to see you as Kate with your friend."
Kate rolled her eyes but didn't get a chance to say anything else as the two men appeared in front of her. Her past and present was about to crash into one another.
x
"Kate," Harkens grinned when he saw, "I didn't know you would be here."
She couldn't stop her smile allowing him to hug her, "Same here. Dee forgot to mention this when I came for lunch."
"What about me?" Mac asked with a slight frown.
Kate hugged him, noticing Tim's confused look at seeing her embracing the two men. Taking a deep breath Kate did the one thing she never thought she ever would.
"Tim," she said motioning him over, "I want you to meet two of my foster fathers. This is Harkens and Mac."
Harkens stepped forward, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Tim."
"You too," Tim replied.
Kate watched in amazement as Harkens sat with Tim and began to chat. She grabbed Mac and Dionne pulling them to a corner.
"What is going on?" she demanded, "Why are they here?"
Dionne sighed, "I'm having trouble with some people who want me to pay protection."
"Let me guess," Kate grimaced, "They're coming here today."
They both nodded.
"Okay," Kate rubbed her eyes, "I can't have Tim here during this but I can't get him out of here without raising his suspicion."
Frowns and confused looks faced her.
"I need suggestions," Kate snapped before taking a deep breath, "Okay, when are these guys due."
Dionne shrugged, "In the next few minutes."
Kate turned to Mac, "We're going to have do what we did on the Andaluze."
"What?" he asked.
"It's the only choice I have," Kate reminded him, "How do I explain we need to get out of here for this? But if you are teaching Emma and it accidentally hits him…"
Mac nodded understanding, "Alright."
"Dionne, do you have a spare uniform for me?" Kate asked.
The woman looked at her interested, "Really?"
Kate let out a long sigh, "This place is neutral territory. I'm making sure it stays that way so kids like Emma have a safe place to go."
x
"It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you, Tim," Harkens smiled at the younger man, "Kate has talked about you a lot."
"She has?" surprise filled Tim's voice.
Harkens chuckled, "Well our girl isn't always very open about her feelings but you made an impression on her."
"She makes quite an impression herself," Tim laughed smiling fondly at Kate as she talked to Dionne and her other foster father.
Before they could continue their conversation Kate appeared beside them, "Can I steal Tim for a minute?"
Harkens smiled at her as Kate pulled Tim to one corner, "Of course."
"What's up?" Tim asked.
Kate shrugged, "You don't mind sticking around here for a while? I don't see them very often."
"Of course not," Tim smiled, "It's…"
He was cut off when Mac hit him with the tazer, dropping unconscious Harkens and Kate caught him.
"Nathan's going to kill me," Kate muttered as Tim was carried into the back room for safety.
The two men who entered the café were scruffy and in their battered leather jackets looked like they were trying to be villains from one of Miguel's really bad movies.
Kate had changed into the waitress uniform, white shirt and black pants, her hair tied back tightly out of her face. Her posture changed as their guests made their entrance, the relaxed woman who had had lunch with her best friend gone, in her place was Kitten.
"Where's our money," the first one growled.
Harkens shook his head, "Have you spoken with the others in the town? Because they will tell you Dionne's place is exempt."
Kate sighed as the conversation went downhill from that moment. After about ten minutes the second pulled out a knife while the first one knocked over the tray of mugs sitting on the counter. They fell to the ground smashing on the floor.
"And what are you going to do about it, old man?" he snarled.
This was a situation Kate had been in many times in the past, she knew exactly what her part in this situation was. Without hesitation she grabbed the tray sitting beside her, slamming it into thug number one's face. Using the nearest chair Kate bounced up onto the table and kicked him in the chest knocking him to the ground.
After that the fight didn't last long, Mac took on the second thug out quickly sending him onto the ground beside his companion.
"What are you going to do with them?" Kate asked pulling her hair out the band.
Harkens shrugged, "I think I'll let the local gang leaders deal with them. Once they know we were involved you should have no more issues, Dee."
The older woman smiled hugging Harkens quickly, "Now which one of you is helping me clean up the mess."
x
"Tim," Kate called to him, "Tim, wake up."
He groaned wincing when the light jabbed into his opening eyes, "What happened?"
Kate chuckled, "You ended up on the business end of a taser. Mac was teaching Emma how to use it."
"Great," Tim grimaced, "How long was I out?"
Kate smiled helping him to sit up, "About an hour. It gave me time to catch up with everyone."
"I'm so pleased for you," sarcasm filled his voice as he managed to stand.
"Come on," Kate chuckled moving under his arm to help keep him upright, "We'd better get you back to the boat and let Wendy check you out before Nathan declares us both AWOL."
Tim shook his head trying to clear it as Kate helped him out of the room he'd been lying in.
"How're you feeling?" Harkens came over to them.
Tim shrugged, "I'll be fine."
"I have to get him back to the boat," Kate interrupted, "I'll see you."
Before anyone could say anything else Kate started Tim moving out the door. Dionne called to them and handed Kate a bag before letting them leave.
x
"Do I want to know what happened to Lieutenant O'Neill?" Nathan asked coming to join Kate standing in the doorway watching Wendy check Tim.
Kate gave an innocent shrug, "Slight accident."
He rolled his eyes at her, "Of course."
"We went to my friend Dionne's café," Kate explained with a sigh, "Harkens and Mac were there."
"What?"
Kate winced, "I had no way to get out of it."
"So how did he end up in the infirmary?" Nathan asked evenly.
"Dee was having some trouble," Kate explained, "She called them for help and there was no way out without raising Tim's suspicion…" she trailed off at his pointed look told her to hurry up with the story, "I got Mac to taze him."
Nathan stared at her before sighing, "I'm sure I once told you not to break my communications officer."
All Kate could think of to do was shrug, "He's only slightly cracked."
"Get out of here," Nathan waved her away, "You're due on the bridge in ten minutes."
Kate nodded before leaving quickly. She headed back to her room to change quickly, finding the bag Dionne had given her.
Curious she opened it and found a box of mixed pastries along with a note.
I was wrong, it said,
I can see that you are now Kate.
When you were with him there was no sign of Kitten.
Dee.
Smiling to herself Kate put the cakes somewhere safe, changed into her version of the uniform before heading up to the bridge to start her shift.