Kate didn't have much of an appetite. She watched the others eat and talk, Reggie giving Tavs the gears over something from their childhood. Alejandro was out keeping watch. Jensen was sitting quietly on the couch, having only eaten a small amount. He hadn't spoken with Piper yet, and she knew he was feeling some anxiety at being away from her.

"You can go home," she said, sitting down next to him now. "I will come when this is over."

"I'd rather be here and make sure you're all right," Jensen replied. "Case has Piper. She's tough and will keep her safe."

"You must miss her, though."

"I do, but you're very important to her, and she'd be very angry at me if I didn't make sure you were safe and brought home in one piece." He gave a bit of a smile, and she lightly chuckled.

"Fair enough."

He was looking at her, and she felt the desire to tuck into him and be close. Her memories were still fuzzy, but one thing she held on to was the comfort she remembered feeling when he was around. She wanted all of her memories back, but she had to be patient.

He smelled familiar as she cuddled against him, his arm around her snugly. She caught Tavs smiling at her as she noticed them.

"What do you remember so far?" Jensen asked a bit later, his fingers tracing her shoulder lightly.

"Just fragments, really," she answered. "Pieces of scenes from things we did together."

"Tell me," he said. She hummed in her throat softly, thinking.

"Dolphins," she shared. "I remember swimming with them, and you."

"That's one of my favorites," Jensen advised, his lips grazing her temple.

"I remember Piper on the surf board," Kate went on. "I remember the storm. I remember...leaving." She frowned slightly. "I don't remember where I went, but I remember coming back."

Jensen didn't say anything as she tried to remember more things. She felt warmer inside as she remembered something, and she lifted her head to look at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I remember...you," she said, resting her hand on his chest. He seemed to understand since his cheeks flushed slightly. He rested a hand over hers, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

"I guess I really am unforgettable," he teased, and she clicked her tongue and gave him a look in return. Reggie gave an exclaim of outrage, and they both looked to see Tavs was slaughtering him at a game of cards and cackling about it.

"Tell me something I can't remember," Kate said, looking at Jensen again. He thought for a moment, and then he smiled.

"The first time I saw you," he said, "on the beach. You were in cut offs and a navy tank top and watching me while pretending not to watch me."

Kate closed her eyes, trying to recall it.

"You and Tavs were entertaining Piper while I spear fished. When I spoke to you the first time, your eyes caught my attention. You made me feel things I hadn't felt in a long time."

I'm Kate.

Jensen, but you can call me J.

She could smell the salt water and hear the wind along with the echo of their voices. She could feel his hand in hers as they shook for the first time.

What brings you here?

Just needed a change.

"It's there," she murmured. "Faintly, but it's there."

"You saved me from an awful client mauling me at the bar," Jensen continued, "by pretending to be my girlfriend."

A scowl and strong perfume. Kate couldn't think of the woman's name, but she could recall feeling gleeful she'd scared her off so easily.

"Watching you try to surf for the first time," he said, a sly grin on his face.

Feeling frustrated and also a bit stupid for trying to learn how to do it...she recalled that.

"You stared a lot," she said, remembering that too.

"You were hard not to stare at," he advised, and she shivered.

"What else?" she prompted.

"The first Saturday you spent with Piper and I. You watching me win a race. Teaching you how to spear fish."

"I can't really remember those right now," she confessed. It frustrated her.

"It's okay," Jensen said. "It'll come back slowly."

"I remember puppies," Kate advised a moment later, and he smiled.

"Yes, our dog Daisy had pups. That was the first time I almost kissed you," he added.

Hands on her waist, noses touching, her heart pounding...she could remember that but not the full picture in detail.

"Keep going."

"Cards on New Year's Eve. The first time I kissed you."

Kate felt...confusion. Something about that memory didn't feel entirely happy. She frowned.

"Something happened," she said, looking at him.

"We weren't ready," he confirmed. "We took a step back for a while."

"And then I left, but I can't think of why," Kate advised, still frowning. Jensen took in a breath and exhaled with a grim smile.

"Alejandro came and told you that the cartels were coming, and you left to keep Piper and me safe," he told her. She blinked. It sounded like something she would do, but the pain of leaving them behind would have been immense. Their pain would have been too.

"What brought me back? Piper's accident?" She remembered Alejandro saying it earlier.

"Yes, which we now know was not an accident," Jensen said, his voice bitter and angry. Kate felt rage towards Evan too. Who would target a little girl?! She would have also come home for Tavs or Jensen; he could have picked one of them instead, not that she'd have wanted him to. He should have left everyone alone.

"So then we just picked up where we left off?" she asked, changing the topic back to their relationship timeline. She wanted to understand it fully.

"Once you were told no one was coming after you, yes," Jensen answered. "You stayed, and we...worked things out."

"I cannot believe he warped with my mind," Kate groaned, pressing a hand to her face. Jensen didn't respond, and she knew he didn't really know what to say about it. They both looked to see Alejandro coming in now, gun holstered in plain sight.

"You're up," he said to Reggie, who dropped his cards and nodded. Tavs watched as Alejandro got some water. Kate lifted a brow as she watched her friend examine him from head to toe in a not so subtle way.

"You see it too?" Jensen asked in her ear quietly.

"Uh huh," Kate confirmed.

Tavs cleared her throat, looking embarrassed suddenly as she scooped all the cards back up into one deck and started to shuffle them absently.

"I've put word out when you're going to be 'transported,'" Alejandro said to Kate now, standing before them. "Hopefully Evan takes the bait."

"Why wouldn't he? He'll want to finish this."

"My contacts have dealt with the remaining cartel members we missed," Alejandro went on. "After this, you're free to live your life, Kate."

"You've said that before." She could remember that for some reason.

"I mean it this time."

Kate gave him a wary look, but he simply moved on to making himself something to eat and ignored her. She got to her feet, feeling restless suddenly. She wanted this to end sooner than later. She wanted her life back.

"Hey," Reggie said when she joined him outside. "You okay?"

"Just overwhelmed," she answered, leaning her hip against the wall of the building and crossing her arms.

"It's definitely been a lot going on for you."

"To say the least," she muttered, and Reggie made an apologetic face.

"I hope once this is all over, you get to move forward with your happy ever after," he commented. A small smile crept on her face, which made him smile wider. "I never thought I'd see the day where you were smitten with someone, Kate."

"Ah, shut up," she retorted, but she blushed slightly.

"It looks good on you," Reggie insisted, nudging her. She smiled more, and he popped a peanut into his mouth from the bag he had stashed in his hoodie pocket. She held out her hand, and he gave her a few.

"I want my memory back," she said, holding her hand out for more after swallowing.

"That must be aggravating." He tipped more into her palm.

"Infuriating," she corrected, knocking back the peanuts again and savoring the taste. She still wasn't really hungry, but this would keep up her energy.

"It will with time," Reggie reminded her. "Be gentle with yourself." Kate just made a noise in her throat, not really agreeing or disagreeing.

"I missed you," Reggie added. "I wanted to visit, but Tavs told me you went into hiding before I could get there."

"It's okay. We have all the time in the world now."

They smiled at each other, and, for a moment, she felt happy. She sat out there with her friend, thankful he was alive, and more than ready to put this all to bed so she could go back home and have her life.

...

Jensen couldn't sleep, so he lay there listening to Kate breathing and feeling her twitch every so often. He could hear the low voices of Tavs and Alejandro on the other side of the wall where they were keeping watch. Reggie was snoring on the couch in the other room.

He thought of the ring for Kate back home and how he was going to ask her to spend forever with him and Piper. He wanted her full memory back before he did that, however, because a part of him felt afraid that she'd remember about Suzy and forget that she believed he didn't do it.

"J?"

He turned his head in the dark, feeling her fingers touch his arm lightly. "Yea? You alright?" He waited as she moved to sit up slowly; he joined her.

"I just had the worst dream," she finally said. "That you died."

"I'm not that easy to get rid of," he promised, his voice light.

"It hurt so much," she whispered. "It felt like...like a premonition or something." He moved to pull her into his lap and hold her close. He felt some tears land on him a moment later.

"It's just your mind making up scenarios," he advised, smoothing his hand up and down her back slowly. "Nothing is gonna happen to me, Kate."

She didn't respond, just rested against him and breathed. He pressed his cheek against her forehead, wishing he could help her feel better. A resounding thump against the wall made them both startle, and the sounds of moans and groans made them both begin to laugh.

"Oh my God," Kate said, sounding horrified almost through her laughter.

"That did not take long," Jensen added, smirking now.

"Tavs and Gillick?!" Kate asked. "Unbelievable!"

It was over fairly quickly, leaving an awkward silence that Jensen did not know how to fill. They heard someone come inside next, walking quietly. He felt Kate shudder and chuckled again.

"Bet that cleared your head of any nightmare."

"I'd rather the nightmare," Kate said dryly.

"Fair enough."

He felt her shift, and then her mouth found his. It was short, soft, and light but enough to make him feel warm inside.

"Thank you," she said, her nose touching his.

"Anytime."

They curled up together back in a sleeping position, and Jensen couldn't wait until they were home and starting their lives together.

The Next Day

Kate found Tavs sipping a coffee at her post early that morning. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, with a lifted brow and amused smile on her lips.

"Oh God," Tavs said, seeing her. "You heard."

"Walls are thin," Kate replied, tapping her knuckles behind her against the drywall. Tavs winced.

"All right. Let me have it."

"Gillick? Really?"

"He's not all bad."

"He put a gun under my chin to make me sign off on something that was not legit," Kate retorted, and Tavs twisted her lips in disapproval.

"I know his methods are...unsavory. I'm sorry he did that to you. I believe he is, too."

"You have history," Kate said, realizing, and Tavs nodded.

"He saved my life a few years ago, not that I wanted to admit that," she explained. "He pointed me in the direction of where I currently live when I was trying to figure out where to go and what to do with myself after leaving the air force. He was a haunted man...still is. That was such a tragedy, his family getting murdered the way they did. Anyway, once I was settled, we had a...moment. He understood me like no one else did; it was something I craved. Then he was gone, and I hadn't seen him until he showed up to help you."

"I see." Kate knew how much PTSD Tavs had worked through. She knew how much it had taken to get where she was today.

"There won't be a next time," Tavs advised. "You don't have to worry."

"It's your life," Kate reasoned, pushing off the wall now. It was getting close to leaving time. "You know I love you no matter what, right?" She felt that for Tavs, even if she couldn't remember everything and had fuzzy fragments that were slowly becoming clear. It was there regardless. Her friend smiled back and hugged her.

"Love you too, girl. I'm glad you stumbled into my life."

Kate squeezed her tighter, and then Tavs stepped back and ushered her inside where they found the others loaded and ready to go.

"Okay," Alejandro said, holstering his gun. "Kate, you're coming with me and Reggie. Tavs, you stay with Jensen. Hopefully this will be all over and done with in the next hour."

"Thank God," Kate muttered. More pieces of memory were returning as time went on. She remembered about Suzy and how Jensen had been framed for her death. She remembered where she'd stayed after Alejandro had told her to leave. She remembered lots of other little details. Her full memory was on the cusp of returning—she could feel it.

"So, cuz," Reggie said to Tavs, nudging her. "Think you got room in that shack of yours for me?"

"It's not a shack," Tavs retorted, sounding annoyed.

"Seriously, can I come stay with you?"

"Fine," Tavs said with a fake, dramatic sigh. She was smiling, though. "It's about damn time you got off your ass and came to see me."

Kate watched as Alejandro shared a quick look with Tavs, and she wondered if it would really be the last time between them. She could see the appeal to him, but she'd never forget what he'd done to her.

"See you at home, girl," Tavs said, hugging her tightly again.

"Thanks for coming to get me," Kate replied, hugging her back just as hard.

"No problem. It felt good to dust off the old rifle."

They smiled at each other and squeezed each other's arms before releasing one another. Tavs gave Kate some space to talk to Jensen.

"See you on the other side," she said to him, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. He rested a hand on her arm lightly.

"Be safe," he told her.

"You too."

She kissed him because she had this unnerving thought that something might happen. If he sensed it, he didn't comment. She reluctantly stepped away from him a moment later, following Reggie and Alejandro while taking looks over her shoulder back at Jensen and Tavs. Something just didn't feel right. She plowed through it, though, because she had to.

...

Jensen looked at Tavs, who looked back at him, once the others were gone.

"Well?" she asked.

"Let's go," he replied. He didn't like having Kate out of his sight, but he trusted Reggie. He begrudgingly trusted Alejandro, but that's just because he knew what the man was capable of. He followed Tavs as they walked to the door, her hand tugging it open.

Only to find Evan standing on the other side, gum aimed at them both.

...

Kate still didn't feel right. She bounced along with the bumps of the road in the backseat, Reggie to her right while Alejandro drove. She kept thinking about Evan and what he'd do, and she soon realized he wouldn't go after her directly.

"We need to go back," she said. Alejandro met her eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Why?"

"Just trust me," she insisted. He stared for a moment, and then he nodded, turning on the blinker and pulling into a street to turn around in.

"What's wrong?" Reggie asked her, and she looked at him.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully, "but I just can't shake the feeling we need to go back."

He shifted in his seat, looking worried. Kate looked out the window, fists clenched. She hadn't told him that her gut was saying Evan was going to hurt Tavs and Jensen.

Because she very much wanted to be wrong.

...

There was so much rage in Jensen as he attacked Evan. Tavs hadn't even stood a chance; Evan shot her in the neck and exposed abdomen under her vest before getting one round into Jensen's leg, and that's when Jensen unleashed.

Jensen was a good fighter, but Evan was slightly faster. It didn't help Jensen was dealing with a bullet hole in his leg. That hurt like hell but also pissed him off so much the adrenaline was taking over. He laid a good beating on Evan, but the man was still going. Tavs was trying to get up, clearly in pain, her hand pressed against her neck with blood spilling between her fingers. Jensen didn't want her to try; he knew she was exacerbating her gunshot wounds, and that could kill her.

He kept Evan busy so as not to notice Tavs going for the pistol on the floor where it had clattered after she went down, tugging herself forward inch my inch with her free hand—a trail of blood being left on the floor as she went. Their hand to hand combat was fast and chaotic, both of them crashing about the room and landing blows to the other. Jensen was enraged on behalf of his daughter and Kate, eager to finish this man off. When Jensen saw the knife come out, however, he had the thought that he wasn't going to survive this.

And he knew that's exactly what Evan had planned as his revenge against Kate.

Evan was fast. Jensen blocked some stabs, but not all of them. The knife went into places his body armor did not protect, and Jensen couldn't stop the cry of pain after the last one. Evan was going for one more stab when gunshots went off, his eyes widened in shock, and he fell to the floor dead. Jensen sank down to his knees, seeing both Kate and Alejandro standing there with guns recently fired. Reggie was landing on his knees on the floor next to Tavs where she'd stopped moving, inches from her gun, his phone pressed to his ear as he called for an ambulance.

"J!" Kate cried, seeing him wounded.

"Kate," he managed to say. He fell onto his side on the floor now.

"Jensen!" Kate's voice was anguished as she hurried to his side. He felt himself shaking now and feeling weak. He thought of his daughter.

"Kate," he said again.

Kate removed his body armor quickly and pulled his shirt up to reveal his wounds. He felt her cram something against them.

"Jensen, don't you dare," Kate warned. "Stay with me!"

"Please...Piper...she needs you." He needed her to understand. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, fiercely. He was fading fast.

"Yes. I swear I will take care of her," Kate promised. "I'll make sure she's okay. If anything happens to you, I will raise her, but you're not leaving just yet, Jensen. You're not." He felt satisfied at this. The next thing he needed her to know before he was gone forever was that he loved her, because he could feel it happening. He was dying. He pressed her hand over his heart, and he didn't know if she understood, but she left it there as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"It's gonna be okay," she said. "Just hang on."

Jensen closed his eyes, feeling so tired suddenly. He could hear Kate's voice shouting at him, Reggie crying to Tavs to stay strong, and Alejandro's voice barking at someone on the phone about what happened, but they were sounding far away now.

"Almost there," Suzy's voice whispered in his ear.

Then there was nothing at all.