The next morning was Hank's first as a former police sergeant. He had woken up knowing there was no job for him to go to. That was a very odd, unsettling feeling. Even the fact that the process of establishing Voight Detective Services was well underway didn't feel like it was doing much to lessen the blow.
One positive was Kalinda having stayed at his place the previous night. She had done her best to pick up his spirits while she got ready for work, and Hank appreciated that. It wasn't her fault that she hadn't succeeded. The loss of his job with Intelligence was now hitting home, in a big way.
After a cup off coffee, it was time for Kalinda to head to work. Hank stood near the front door as she prepared to leave, putting on her leather jacket and gloves.
"Sorry I have to go. I've done my best to lift your spirits. Perhaps it's not something I excel at."
"It's not you," Hank assured her. "Honestly, you being here has helped a lot. Until now, being kicked out of my own unit hadn't really hit me. Now it is."
"This is easier said than done, but try not to dwell on it. Busy yourself with something for the detective agency. What needs to be done?"
Hank considered that. Apart from continuing to drum up business, Erin had a lot of the preparations in hand. It was a matter of waiting for detective licenses to be issued, waiting for the lease on the office premises to be finalised, waiting for the website to be built, and so on.
"We're yet to hire a receptionist," was all he could think of.
"Then make that today's job," Kalinda suggested. Knowing him well enough by now, she wanted him to keep busy. That was the type of person he was.
"I probably should do that. Thanks, Kalinda. It's... nice to have someone backing me up."
She kissed him on the lips. "You'd better get used to that. I meant what I said to you last night. I love you, Hank. Very much."
Hank pulled her to him and kissed her again. "And I meant it just as much. I love you too. Will I see you tonight?"
"Of course. Come to my place and I'll make curry. Extend an invitation to Erin if you speak to her. Jay too, if he's willing to come."
He raised an eyebrow slightly. "You want to invite Jay to your apartment? You only met him last night."
Kalinda grinned. "You're going to have to get used to being with an Indian woman, Hank. Hosting and feeding people is what we do."
"You are very good at it," he said in all sincerity. "Not sure I want to sit and eat dinner with Jay though."
That made Kalinda groan. "Don't go down that road, Hank. You told me about the Hailey situation, and yes, Jay's behaviour was wrong. But you saw him and Erin together last night. They were very happy. Have a word with him, but a word only. Then put it behind you and be happy for Erin. That's how you get closer to her, not by making her think you're being a prick to her boyfriend. That'll push her away from you, not from Jay. Nobody wants that to happen."
Hank knew the advise was coming from the right place. Plus it was likely good advise, if he could manage to accept that. He wanted Erin to be happy more than he wanted tear a strip off Jay's ass. That was what he had to keep in mind.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll try to take it."
"You're welcome. I've got to move my arse, Hank. The last thing I need is to be late on the new boss's first day, whoever that is."
"You'd better go," Hank said. He hadn't told Kalinda about his sit down with Raquel Gonzalez, having decided that it was Gonzalez's right to make her own first impression with her team rather than for him start doing it ahead of time. "Have a good day. See you tonight."
"You will," Kalinda said before giving him one more kiss. This time she put her gloved hands on his cheeks for a moment so that he could enjoy the leather.
"More of that tonight?" he asked hopefully.
"If you're lucky," she said with a giggle, before she opened the front door and walked out.
Hank stood in the doorway and watched until Kalinda was in the Uber that she had ordered to take her home, where she could pick up her car and then head to the 21st, likely grabbing something for breakfast on the way.
Once Kalinda was gone, Hank walked into his living room. If this moment had come without Kalinda and Erin in his life, he had no idea what he would have done because even with them he felt empty without the Intelligence job. In part it was because the house was empty now, and that brought back a lot of memories of loneliness.
"Keep busy," he told himself. Dwelling on the situation would only make it worse. Kalinda's advise had been good. It was time to hire a receptionist, via a telephone interview if necessary.
With that in mind, Hank sat down on the couch and sent a text to Erin. She had the details of the shortlisted people for the receptionist role. So far, several had been rejected. Part of Hank wondered if he had been too picky, but no, he had to have the right gut instinct when he spoke to a person who was potentially going to work for him. That hadn't happened as yet. In fact, it had been the opposite. In the text he told Erin that he needed something to do with his day and wanted to get on with more interviews.
Moments later, Erin replied to say that was good news because she had just arranged an interview for that afternoon, adding that there was another candidate who she could try to arrange an interview for also.
Hank wrote back, asking her to set up both interviews if possible. His mind was on the obvious problem that presented itself: there was still nothing for him to do with his morning. When Erin replied again, he found out that there was going to be something after all. She told him that she had gone out grocery shopping, while Jay was heading over to see him.
"Great," Hank said with a sigh. But, upon reflection, he figured it might be best to say what needed to be said to Jay, then they could both move on. And so could Erin. She was intelligent enough to know that words were going to be had, which explained why she wasn't coming to the house with Jay.
The knock on the door came about twenty minutes later. Reminding himself once more of Kalinda's advice, Hank walked out of the living room and went to open the door. Sure enough, Jay was there.
"Morning, Hank. Figured I'd come see you so what needs to be said can be said, then maybe I can buy you breakfast if you've not eaten yet?"
Hank actually hadn't eaten yet. He hadn't felt like it. His instinct was to turn down the offer, but he knew Kalinda would have suggested the opposite if she was aware of the offer.
"I've not eaten yet," he said, not committing to anything for now. "Come in. Coffee? I'm sure you need it after a long flight."
"Coffee sounds great," Jay said, entering the house and following Hank through to the kitchen. "Before we start, can I explain things from my point of view?"
"That would be us starting," Hank pointed out dryly as he set to work preparing the coffee machine for operation.
"Then I'll start," Jay said patiently. "I understand why you're angry with the way I treated Hailey, and you're worried about the same thing happening to Erin."
Hank just looked at him for a moment, his expression showing exactly what he thought about that possibility.
"The truth is I married Hailey because I wanted to be happy, not because I was happy. What I've realised since is that I was with Hailey because I wanted her to be Erin. Hailey wasn't Erin, and I wasn't happy. That's why I had to bail when I did. Then, one night out of the blue Erin called me. We talked. And we talked some more. I'd say I fell in love with her again, but that's not really possible because I never stopped loving her in the first place. Now, at last, I have the chance to be with the woman I love, and she wants it as much as I do. There's no circumstance where I'd ever hurt Erin. We are going to be together, with or without you being okay with it. We'd both much prefer you to be okay with it."
Quite a speech, Hank thought. He had fixed Jay a cup of coffee while he listened to it. If this exact scenario had played out without Kalinda in his life, his response might have been different. But now, he could see it from Jay's point of view. If Kalinda's dad were still alive and tried to stand in his way, he would have done whatever was necessary to continue dating her. What right did he have to expect Jay to behave differently? Although that didn't mean he shouldn't make his own position crystal clear.
He handed the cup of coffee to Jay. "That was a good speech, I have to admit. You were an asshole to Hailey, and I won't forget that. But I believe what you say about your feelings for Erin. Her feelings for you are obvious too, so I won't try to stand in your way. Just so that everyone's cards are on the table though, if you do treat her badly all bets will be off in terms of what I'll do about it. Are we clear on that?"
Hank knew that Jay knew what he was capable of if all bets were off, so a more specific threat wasn't required.
Jay took the coffee from him, and nodded his agreement. "I hear you. If I had a daughter and I were the one in your position, no doubt I'd say the same thing. I'm going to treat her right, Hank. We've got another shot at this and I'm not going to waste it. I love her. You've got my word I'll treat her right."
With that, Jay offered his hand. It was a slightly odd gesture, but Hank understood the meaning behind it – to cement the promise that was being made.
"You'd better," Hank said and shook his hand. "Kalinda wanted me to invite you and Erin to her place for dinner tonight. Real curry cooked by an Indian woman. You've never tried anything like it."
Jay didn't hesitate. "Assuming Erin is up for it, we'll be there."
A/N: Hank came as close as he was ever likely to in terms of giving Jay and Erin his blessing. What do you make of how he handled it? Did Kalinda's influence have a positive effect?