The next morning, Hank awoke feeling fresher than usual, more upbeat than usual. Maybe even happy. He couldn't remember the last time that had happened. Waking up feeling determined to get to work and do a good job was familiar to him. He was used to feeling driven, or even angry depending on the case he was working on. But not happy.

Kalinda Rai was having a big effect on his life, in such a short period of time. He contemplated that as he got up and took his morning wash in the bathroom. The dinner date had been a very pleasant, enjoyable time. On the way to drop Kalinda off at home, he hadn't wanted the night to end. It had ended though, with a peck on the cheek. After all, they weren't sex-deprived teenagers who were going to jump into bed at the first opportunity. But Hank was definitely interested in her, and to hell with whether he was her boss or not. For once, it was time to pursue something for himself instead of the job.

Also unfamiliar to Hank was a desire to be impulsive. When an idea came to him, he decided to roll with it and see what happened. After washing up and brushing his teeth, he went back to his bedroom and picked up his phone. For a moment, he second-guessed himself.

"Just do it," he muttered, and began typing out a text message to Kalinda.

Would you like to meet me for coffee before work?

With the message sent, Hank got on with getting dressed. A couple of minutes went by without a sound from his phone. But then his message tone sounded.

Kalinda Rai: That would be nice. When and where?

Hank thought for a moment about where would be the right place to suggest. There was a coffee shop called Bean and Gone which he had visited before, and it was located sort of between his place and Kalinda's. It was always busy, so he figured it was good. He sent another message, suggesting the coffee shop and letting her know the time to meet him. Her reply came almost immediately.

Kalinda Rai: See you there.

For once there was something pleasant and drama-free happening in Hank's life. It made him happy, and he felt that way the whole time until he parked up at the coffee shop twenty minutes later. Then he was hit with a weird, almost nervous feeling. Why, when all he was doing was having a coffee with someone?

But he wasn't just having coffee with someone. He was having a date, kind of, with a woman he was interested in. Very interested in. And who was possibly interested in him also. The whole situation with him and Kalinda made little sense in his mind, but that was one of the things he liked about it.

Later, when he parked up at the coffee shop, Hank felt glad that he had been able to put the nervous feeling behind him. He wasn't that kind of person at all, and it was unpleasant to feel so out of character.

He got out of his SUV, noting that the small parking lot was almost full. If Kalinda was far behind him, she might struggle to get a spot. The level of popularity was as he had expected, showing that Bean and Gone served good coffee and breakfast food. He hoped Kalinda would agree.

"Morning," a male staff member said to Hank when he walked in. He had to talk loudly over the chatter of customers and the sound of a percolating machine. The smell of fresh coffee was amazing. "We're a little busy I'm afraid. Are you looking to get something to go, or were you looking for a table?"

"A table," Hank said. Looking around, it seemed like he would be lucky. From here by the door, they all appeared to be occupied.

"For one, sir?"

"Two," Hank replied, feeling happy to be able to say that.

"Give me a second, please."

The staff member went to have a look around to see what was available. When he returned, he was smiling. A bearer of good news.

"We're in luck, sir. I have one table for two left. Follow me, please."

Hank did so, making his way off to the right, to a table that was a bit shoehorned into the corner of the coffee shop. Beggars couldn't be choosers, he supposed.

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'll order when my, uh..." Hank hesitated for a second, unsure what word to choose to refer to Kalinda. "Colleague gets here," he went with. Describing her as a date would gave felt wrong somehow.

"Sounds good. I'll come back."

Hank took off his coat and sat down. He was going to have to make casual conversation again. As with the dinner date, it struck him how out of practice he was at that. Living only to work for many years had done his social skills no favours.

Only a couple of minutes went by before Kalinda walked in. He was sure she had spotted his SUV in the lot. She looked around the busy shop and saw him when he raised his hand.

Hank watched her walk towards him. She had shown up in a black leather jacket, matching gloves and long black boots. Blue jeans somewhat unflatteringly completed the look, but she was dressed for work, not a social occasion. Plenty of leather again though, he thought. Kalinda obviously liked wearing it, and he liked seeing her wear it. She looked truly beautiful, even though her hair was up, in the unfortunately familiar style. He longed to see her let it down, or even better to be able to let it down himself.

"Good morning, Hank. You look well today. Happy, in fact. It's nice to see," Kalinda said when she reached the table. There was a warm smile on her face.

"Morning. You look..." Hank hesitated. Despite what had happened between them so far, he wasn't quite sure what the relationship or dynamic between them stood. It was appropriate to say what he had been about to say to someone who worked on his team at Intelligence.

Kalinda's smile broadened. "You can say what you were thinking. Unless it was 'like shit.' Then don't say it."

Hank laughed. "Beautiful. That was what I was going to say."

Now Kalinda seemed a bit embarrassed. "Thank you," she said, setting about taking off her jacket and gloves so as to avoid eye contact for a moment. "Is it ever warm in Chicago?" she grumbled, hanging her coat over the back of her chair. The gloves were dumped on the table top. "I can't stand the cold."

"You picked the wrong place to move to then," Hank said in amusement.

She shrugged. "It's not like England is any bloody better."

The staff member who had seated Hank returned, order pad in hand. "What can I get you guys?"

Hank let Kalinda order first, and hid his disgust at the idea of a spiced honey latte. For him, coffee was supposed to be coffee. And that was what he ordered – Americano.

"I'll get them to you as quick as I can," the man promised.

"You can tell a lot about someone from their coffee order," Kalinda said to Hank, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh? What does my order say about me?"

"Your order sums you up. Strong. Rugged. No sugar coating."

Hank smiled, kind of liking that description. "Yours it pretty accurate too. Sweet, but some spice there to keep you interested."

Kalinda gave him what could only be a seductive look. "Oh, I think I have a bit more spice than that. You have to have a taste before the spice hits you, that's all."

"I like the taste of spicy things," he said, feeling sexual excitement building. Somehow Kalinda had managed to turn ordering coffee into an almost erotic experience. It left Hank in no doubt as to what he wanted. If the chance came along for him to make a move, he thoroughly intended to do just that.

By early afternoon of Kalinda's third shift with Intelligence, she was having a better day than her previous two. The first one had involved her shooting and killing a man, albeit when she had been presented with no other choice. Her second day had been a real contrast, involving spending most of the shift fruitlessly scanning CCTV footage for the driver of the crashed car with the three AKs and a load of ammunition in the trunk. On day three, Kalinda and Kim had gotten themselves a lead.

They had tracked the man to a park. He had sat on a bench there for a while, blending in with the general public, before leaving the park again and getting into a white van. A friend, associate, or maybe a family member had picked him up. Burgess had been able to track the van through the city, until it had parked at an apartment block.

Kalinda had been able to get the licence plate from a still from one of the CCTV cameras. With that information and the address of the apartment block it had been easy work to find out which apartment they needed. The van was registered to the owner of apartment four.

Now, having obtained a search warrant, Intelligence were at the apartment building.

"These are two storey apartments," Hank explained to the team. "When we go in, I want Adam and Kalinda to head upstairs. Dante and Kim, you'll tackle the lower floor, while I stand ready to cover you. Dante, Hailey, you hang back outside in case we somehow end up with a runner. Once we've secured the place, I'll call you to come up."

"Sarge," Hailey acknowledged, not impressed with the short straw.

Hank led the team to the door of apartment four and ordered Atwater to kick it in. With potentially armed and dangerous people inside, there was no place for standing on ceremony.

The door busted in a with Atwater's first kick, and the team flooded into the apartment. Hank watched them disperse, guns up and ready, hearing them announce themselves repeatedly.

About thirty seconds went by. He heard his team clearing rooms, then from upstairs he heard a crash, then Kalinda shout, "Sarge!"

Hank immediately sprinted up the stairs. At the top, he quickly got an idea as to what had happened. The door of a laundry closet stood open. Adam Ruzek lay on the floor, dazed, with blood coming from his nose, likely from the door being flung open by the man who had been inside the closet and hitting him in the face.

The man in question was now wrestling with Kalinda for control of her gun. He was taller and stronger than her, but she was giving as good she got. Seeing her being assaulted made Hank see red. He couldn't risk shooting the guy in case he somehow hit Kalinda, so instead he ran at the guy and tackled him to the ground.

Both men hit the floor, rolled, and Hank ended up on top. Still seeing red, he began punching the perp in the face as hard as he could. He connected with three savage blows before he became aware of Ruzek's voice.

"Sarge! I think he's had enough."

The red mist receded, and Hank saw that the offender was old cold. His nose was never going to look the same again.

"You both okay?" Hank asked as he set about cuffing the unconscious man.

"Yeah," Ruzek said, angry with himself. "He timed that perfectly. As I approached the door, he launched it open and it caught me square in the face. Sorry, Sarge."

"Kalinda?" Hank asked. He could see a little bit of blood coming from a small cut above her right eye.

"The fucker headbutted me, but I'm fine."

Kevin and Kim were now on the scene, reporting that the rest of the house was clear. Kim showed concern for Adam, while Hank's was for Kalinda.

"I want you to go to Chicago Med and get that looked at. It's only a few blocks away. Take Adam with you and get him patched up too."

"I'm fine, Sarge," Kalinda insisted. "But I'll take Adam down there for you."

"Sarge, I'll..." Ruzek began, but Hank cut him off.

"Save it. Kalinda's taking you over to Med and you're both getting looked at. Kev, you can take this son of a bitch back to the 21st. The rest of us will search the apartment. Let's go!"

A/N: Do you think Hank should try to take things further with Kalinda? Or would it be a mistake?