Hank had calmed down by the time Kalinda arrived. Calm or not, he wasn't going to quickly forget the way Erin had lied to him. It was totally out of line on her part, and out of character too. At least, out of character for the Erin he had known years ago. In her defence, he did believe that her apology had been since, so in time they would be able to move past it.

For now, it was time to put that unpleasantness out of his mind. Kalinda had just sent him a text to say she was outside. It didn't escape Hank that she had chosen to do that rather than come to the door. Perhaps the frosty interaction between her and Erin a few nights ago was the reason, he suspected. There was another owed by Erin for that incident.

Positive thoughts, Hank told himself. He didn't want to spend the evening with Kalinda in a bad mood.

"Have a nice time," Erin said, seeing Hank off at the front door. There was still some awkwardness between them after the heated bust up earlier.

"I will. Have a good night," Hank replied as he grabbed his leather jacket and headed out the door. There was a car parked a couple of houses up the street, headlights on. The lights flashed, confirming that it was Kalinda's car.

Hank walked over to the car, putting his coat on along the way, and got in. He was greeted with a warm smile by Kalinda, along with her ever-delightful accent. "Hello. You look very smart this evening."

"And you look... stunning," Hank replied, feeling unhappy because the word he had chosen hadn't done her justice. Kalinda's makeup was on point, and she was dressed in a smart dark blue winter blazer and black pants. Sadly the other leather items this time were boots and gloves, but that was a lot better than nothing. The frustrating hairstyle persisted. He thought that he was simply going to have to get used to that. Seeing it let down would need to be considered a special treat.

"Thank you. Although you didn't sound sure," Kalinda was saying with humour as she got the car moving.

"Oh, I'm sure about how you look. It was an adequate word I was struggling for. Didn't find one."

Kalinda glanced at him with a cheeky smile on her face. "There's a romantic in there somewhere, Hank."

"Not much of one," he assured her. "So, what can you tell me about this apartment we're going to see?"

"Did I tell you it's owned by a friend of my friends who I'm staying with?"

"You did. And you said he's making sure you get first refusal on it."

"That's right. He called me today and said he'll offer me a lower monthly rate too, plus the place comes furnished. The guy's really doing his best to help me out. That's ideal for me as my previous place was furnished also. I don't have much stuff of my own. With all that taken into account, I don't think it'll be easy to turn this place down, unless its a real dump."

"Then we'd better have a careful look over it to make sure it's not a real dump with a coat of new paint over it."

Kalinda glanced at him and smiled. "Exactly why I asked you to come. No doubt you have a better eye for it than me."

"I'll give it my best shot," he promised.

The journey to the apartment block in question took less than ten minutes. Hank had known that ahead of time thanks to the car's satnav display. The location was quite convenient, making it easy for him and Kalinda to drive to see each other whenever they wanted to.

It was a relatively small apartment block, only three storeys high. Maybe twenty years old, Hank guessed. Not in the best area of the city, but certainly not the worst. It was on a relatively quite side street too – a big bonus when living in a city.

"Is it on the ground floor?" he asked, eyeing up the building.

"No, thankfully. Not sure I'd want a ground floor one. This is first floor."

"That's good. You're meeting a real estate agent?" He had spotted a car parked a few spots down from where Kalinda had managed to park up, sitting with its engine and lights on. As soon as he asked the question, the car in question was turned off and a woman got out wearing a business suit with a coat over the top of it. She had some kind of document holder in hand.

"Yes. That'll be her. Let's go," Kalinda said. She turned off the engine and they both got out.

"Kalinda Rai?" the real estate agent called out. She sound young and cheerful.

"Hello. Yes, that's me."

The woman got close enough for Hank to get a proper look at her in the inadequate street light. Dark hair, quite pretty, maybe twenty-five at most.

"Deonna Purrazzo, with Gregorio Real Estate. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Kalinda said and the two women shook hands. "This is Hank Voight." She didn't specify their connection, Hank noted. Perhaps she didn't know how to describe it yet. At least she hadn't said boss or colleague.

"Good to meet you," Purrazzo said, offering her hand.

Hank shook it. "You too. Do you meet clients alone at night often Ms Purrazzo?"

"Actually, never. I'm covering tonight because my boss is sick. Since the client is a woman we figured it would be fine. Why do you ask?" she wanted to know, a little wary.

"I'm a cop. Warning people against taking dangerous risks is part of the job. I'd advise you not to do what you're doing right now again."

"I see. Well, thank you for saying something. Shall we go inside?"

"Let's," Kalinda said. As she fell in step with Hank, behind Purrazzo, she gave him an approving look for the fact that he had perhaps instilled a little more caution in the young woman.

Inside, Purrazzo began her sales pitch. "This building is one of our most sought after locations. When apartments come up here, they're never on the market more than a couple of weeks. It's close enough to downtown for convenient commuting, yet far enough away for peace and quiet if that's what you prefer. We've had some strong interest today actually, but as you know we were instructed not to close a deal until you've had your viewing."

"That's right," Kalinda said pleasantly.

Purrazzo motioned to a nearby elevator. "The building has a fully functional elevator, however if you don't mind we'll take the stairs? I get super claustrophobic in those things."

"Not a problem," Kalinda assured her.

Soon, the trio were up on the first floor. Purrazzo unlocked the door to apartment five. There were four on each floor. "Here's the info packet. Let's go in and have a look around. Would you like me to talk you through it, or leave you to take a look around?"

"I think you can leave us to it, thank you," Kalinda said, taking the info packet.

Hank nodded his thanks and followed Kalinda inside. Purrazzo followed them and allowed the door to close. "I'll hang out right here then. Give me a call if you need anything."

Hank was already sizing up the place. They had entered into a combined living, dining and kitchen area. The front door was near the kitchen. There was a breakfast bar between it and the dining area. A wooden table with four chairs made up the dining area. Further back was the living area, consisting of two fairly small leather couches and a white wooden coffee table. There was even a TV on the wall. Furnished did indeed mean furnished. The furniture wasn't to Hank's taste, and neither was the decoration – all white walls with a few garish pieces of art scattered around. His impression didn't match Kalinda's, he soon discovered.

"Oh, Hank. This is actually quite nice. It's bigger than my last place, and better quality furniture too, it looks like. The kitchen's not the biggest, but I could work with it. What do you think?"

Be positive, since she obviously likes it, Hank told himself. "The kitchen units and the cooker look good quality. Can't see any faults with the installation," he said, checking it over. He turned on the faucet to make sure the water ran properly. It did. Then he opened the cupboard below the sink to check the plumbing. It appeared adequate, although the cupboard itself was dirty inside. "Plumbing seems okay. Whoever did the end of tenancy clean wasn't very thorough."

"Decent sized fridge and freezer," Kalinda was saying, having opened both of the doors on it.

They looked over the rest of the kitchen, the dining area and the living area, where Kalinda insisted they had to try sitting on both of the couches. Hank could tell she was enthusiastic about the apartment, which, when combined with the 'friend of a friend' bonuses that were on offer, told him that she was going to take it.

"Let's check out the bathroom," he suggested.

"The bathroom was replaced less than a year ago," Purrazzo told them, likely noticing that Kalinda had paid little attention to the info packet.

"Interesting," Kalinda said, leading Hank into the bathroom. It wasn't big, wasn't expensively furnished, but it was functional and in good condition. It was white, again. So much white. Not to Hank's taste at all, but he wasn't going rent the place.

"Not bad, right?" was Kalinda's comment.

"I see nothing wrong with it," Hank said. He went over and tested the plumbing again. It worked fine.

Next they went through to the apartment's one decently sized bedroom. There was a second alleged bedroom, he had seen on the way to the bathroom, with a single bed and a small night stand in it. But to Hank calling it a bedroom was optimistic at best. The master bedroom was better, with a kind size bed, a nightstand either side and even a small walk-in wardrobe.

"I think this will do for me, Hank," Kalinda said. "I could move right in, and with the stuff that's here and my things that are in storage I'd be all set. It's not far from work or from your house. I think I'm going to take it." She was looking to Hank for support and reassurance. Her tone made that clear to him.

"Then take it," he urged, in what passed for his best upbeat manner. Upbeat wasn't something he did well. "As you said, it's furnished and you can move right in. Plumbing seems fine. There are no signs that any of the electrics have had to be messed around with, and no signs of damp or anything. I have no red flags."

Kalinda beamed in excitement. "Okay then. Thank you for looking for all that stuff. That's why I needed you here." With that, she reached up and pecked Hank on the lips. It was enough to give him a little taste of her, and her perfume filled his nostrils.

Turned on in an instant, Hank went in for another kiss, pulling her to him and planting his lips firmly on hers. Back in the day, he had been complimented on his kissing. The skills were starting to come back to him now that he finally had romance in his life once more. He was shaking off the rust.

"Oh, Hank," Kalinda said breathlessly when the kiss was over.

Purrazzo appeared in the doorway. "Did I hear you say you'd like to take it?"

"You did," Kalinda was delighted to announce.

"That's fantastic," Purrazzo said, beaming. "I'll process the paperwork first thing tomorrow morning and get back to you with a confirmation."

"That would be brilliant," Kalinda said. Then she looked at Hank. "I've got myself a place in Chicago."

The way they were standing presented him a chance to put at arm around her waist. He went for it, and was rewarded with her moving fractionally closer to him in a sign of warmth and acceptance. "You did! And I'll help you move in once you've got a date figured out."

"Ah, you guys are sweet," Purrazzo said happily.

Hank doubted he had ever been described as sweet before in his life. It made him laugh out loud, and Kalinda joined in. Whether she knew the reason he had laughed, or whether she was just happy didn't particularly matter to Hank. He was happy. They both were. In a way, it felt like he was experiencing a fresh start in life. At his age, it was odd feeling. Odd in a very good way.

A/N: Kalinda has found herself a place to live. And Hank is starting to tap into parts of himself that have been closed off for a very long time. Has the healing process begun?