***Salem Inn***
Kate swings open her hotel room door and slams it behind her. She lets out a frustrated shriek, dropping her purse on the floor and scattering some of its contents. She throws her phone across the room. It hits the couch and bounces onto the carpet with a soft thud. A few warm tears stream down her face. Lucas is going to prison and there's nothing she can do about it. She's proud of him and she managed to keep calm when he told her, but that doesn't make the devastation she is feeling any less. It most definitely doesn't take the sting away of feeling like she failed one of her children again. She pictures Phillip all alone in the hospital and Lucas all alone in his cell. She looks around her quiet room; she's alone too. Honestly, it's probably what she deserves.
***Brady Pub***
Roman sighs in frustration and slams his phone down on the bar top. Admittedly, he had purposefully not talked to Kate for days since they were last at the pub together; partially playing the game a little, making her sweat, and partially because he was still dealing with his own anger and trust issues. He still loves her, but he doesn't want to take her back if he can't be fully committed; it wouldn't be fair to either of them. His feelings about her, about everything, swing back and forth like a pendulum.
Now, after finding out about Lucas pleading guilty, he can't help but worry about how she's dealing with the news. He assumes badly. His calls were going directly to voicemail. His texts weren't delivering. He would watch the blue bar at the top of his phone waiting for the 'delivered' to appear at the bottom, but instead the text would turn from blue to that annoying bright green. He paces behind the bar, moving things around, trying to keep his hands busy and his mind quiet. He looks at his phone, no alerts. He can't take it anymore. He asks the night staff to take over closing duties, then grabs his jacket and sprints out of the pub.
***Salem Inn***
He arrives at her hotel room door and knocks. No answer.
"Kate, please open the door," he says softy.
He doesn't hear any sounds or movement behind the door. He knocks louder. No answer. His heart is pounding in his chest and his temples. He's worried now, and his throat tightens with anxiety. He doesn't want to make a scene in the hallway by raising his voice or banging on the door louder, so he goes downstairs and somehow manages to convince the front desk staff that he and Kate are there together, and he lost his room key. Being a former cop had its uses at times.
He returns to her door; the soft mechanical click of the lock opening calms him just a little. He opens the door slowly and sees her purse spilled out on the floor, his heart jumps in his chest. He walks further into the room and sees that it's a mess, papers and objects scattered on the floor. He spots her phone on the floor near the sofa. He hears the faint sound of water running. He breathes a sigh of relief. She was just in the shower. But…he's been trying to call her for hours and the disarray of the room still unnerves him. He pauses and contemplates his next move. If she's fine and he barges in there, she's going to be angry and then he's going to have to deal with an angry Kate. But, what if she's not fine? He nods his head and says to himself, "Worth the risk."
He knocks softly first. "Kate?" There's no answer, so he quietly opens the door. The steam hits his face instantly making his eyes water; the warm, humid air is almost suffocating. It takes his eyes a moment to adjust as the steam dissipates slightly through the open door. He spots her, sitting on the floor of the shower, legs pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. Her skin is turning pink, almost red from the scalding hot water hitting her. "How long has she been in here?" he wonders to himself. She still has not noticed him. He grabs a towel off the rack on the wall and moves closer to her.
Kate is completely oblivious to the door creaking softly open. She is lost in her thoughts despite hoping the painful sting of the boiling hot water would drown them out. Her vision is hazy from the water and steam.
"Kate?" he says softly. She does not respond. "Kate," he says a little more forcefully as he moves closer. She jumps.
"Roman? What…why…?" she stammers, clearly taken aback.
He takes advantage of her momentary shock to shut off the water. It's so blisteringly hot he pulls his hand back with a small yelp after turning the handle. He bends down and wraps her in the towel. His face is inches from hers. Her eyes are red and swollen. He touches her face lightly. She's starting to shiver so he rubs her arms through the towel. She hasn't said anything else. He is genuinely shocked she hasn't started screaming at him yet for just charging in on her without warning. He lifts her to her feet and grabs a robe off the hook by the shower and wraps her in it. "Why is she so quiet?" he wonders. It's unsettling.
Kate wants to fight Roman, shout at him, but every sharp remark that comes to mind dies before it reaches her tongue. She's so drained and even though she'd rather not admit it right now, his presence is a comfort. She's glad he's here.
"Your phone has been going straight to voicemail for hours. I was worried. I'm sorry for showing up unannounced," he says quietly.
She can hear the concern in his voice and nods her head. She still hasn't spoken. It's starting to alarm Roman a little. Suddenly, her forehead crinkles in pain, she closes her eyes, and stumbles. Roman steadies her. He looks at her with apprehension. She notices his concern, so she says, matter-of-factly, "Just a headache. I've been getting some mean ones lately."
He helps her to the bed. He rummages around until he finds some Advil. He drops the pills in her hand and hands her a glass of water. She takes the pills and lays back with a sigh against the headboard, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to steady her breathing and will away the pain. Roman moves quietly around the room, picking up her purse and straightening up. He picks up her phone and plugs it in next to her bed, making sure it turns on. She hears the familiar sound of the phone powering on.
"I don't know why you're bothering to turn that back on. No one is looking for me right now," she says sarcastically.
Roman smiles despite himself, and says internally, "There she is," at the familiar acerbic tone that he did not realize he missed so much. "I was," he says with a shrug.
"And I can't imagine why. I'm sure you're elated Lucas is going to prison," she snaps back.
"Look. We can keep trading barbs back and forth if that's what you want. I know it's our default comfort zone, especially when things aren't going great, but as furious as I am at Lucas…" he pauses, "and you; I know today was a hard day for you."
She nods her head. "I'm sorry. I'm okay though, Roman. I'm dealing. Really. You don't have to feel obligated to take care of me right now. Me being upset doesn't change what's going on with us. You still need time, and I don't want your pity."
"It's not pity, Kate."
"Regardless, I know you have things to do, a pub to run. Go take care of them." She gets up from the bed, places her hands on his chest, and ushers him towards the door. "I am fine," she says insistently.
He has both of his hands in the air in protest while she's pushing him with a small smirk at the corner of his lips. At that moment, Roman sees her eyes start to gloss over and roll back, he reaches out and catches her before she tumbles to the floor. She is completely limp in his arms.
"Kate? Katie?" he says, lightly shaking her. She's out. He checks her pulse, it's strong but racing. Her breathing is steady. As he moves her back to the bed, she's already starting to come to.
"Roman?" She blinks a few times and looks around confused.
"You passed out. Almost fell. How are you feeling now?" he asks with concern in his voice.
"A little lightheaded and my head is pounding. It's okay. It'll pass."
"Kate, has this happened before?"
"Not the passing out part, but I told you I've been getting headaches and sometimes I get lightheaded. I've been under a lot of stress. I haven't been sleeping, barely eating…it's a recipe for headaches," she says dismissively waving her hand.
"That's it. Get dressed. We're going to go get you checked out," he says insistently.
"Roman, I'm fine," she says with an eye roll that infuriates Roman to his core.
"Lady, I'm not taking no for an answer," he says forcefully.
"Can we please talk about this tomorrow? I'm so exhausted. I can't argue with you right now. I don't have the will power. Please, just let me sleep and I promise I will let you drag me in tomorrow so they can tell you I'm fine and waste our time," she says rolling her eyes again.
He feels heat on his face in irritation at her attitude and he can tell she has no intention of keeping that promise. "Fine," he says, "but I'm not leaving you alone tonight."
She starts to protest, but he raises a finger and interrupts her before she can argue, "No other choice," he says adamantly, while crossing his arms.
She narrows her eyes at him and lets out an exasperated sigh. She's not going to win this fight. It's a battle of wills and she has no fight in her right now. "Fine," she says crossing her arms over her chest. He looks smug. She wants to scream in frustration, but she doesn't bother. Not worth the energy at this point.
She's feeling steadier and the headache is slightly less excruciating, so she slowly stands to head to the bathroom to finish her nightly routine. Roman is by her side like a shot and takes her arm.
She exhales in annoyance, "I'm not a fragile piece of glass, Roman. I feel fine. Don't hover or I will kick you out." She jerks her arm away.
Roman holds both of his hands up in surrender and takes a step back, "Ok, lady, you got it." But he still watches her every move like a hawk from across the room.
Kate walks out of the bathroom to see Roman sitting in the bed with a grin on his face. He pats the bed next to him. She lets out an annoyed sigh and crosses her arms. She should make him sleep on the couch, but frankly there's nothing she wants more than sleep next to him again, so she fights the urge to lean on old habits. She crawls into bed next to him with her back to his stomach. She feels his arm slide around her waist. She relaxes into the familiar embrace and falls into a deep, dreamless sleep almost instantly.
Roman lies awake for a while listening to her slow, steady breathing. Maybe he is overreacting but seeing her go down like that earlier really frightened him, and if he was being honest, she looks pale, and he swears she's lost weight. He assumed it was the stress, just like she said when she was brushing off his concern, but what if it's something else? He won't let her wiggle her way out of going to the doctor tomorrow. He pulls her a little closer and drifts off to sleep as well.