Sunday had arrived - the day of the shopping trip that Hank had managed to commit himself to. He was looking forward to spending time with Kalinda and Erin as a group, but he wished the circumstances were different. The moment he had suggested doing something together and Kalinda had opted for a shopping trip had been the first time in their relationship where their thinking had been totally disconnected. Still, he had agreed to the idea and he was going to make the best of it.
Erin was definitely looking forward to it. He could tell that as they ate breakfast together at the dining table.
"You know... dad... I'm doing my best to make saying that feel natural," she said, faltering.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "It'll come with time. I hope. What were you going to say?"
"I hope it will. And I was going to say I'm proud of you for being in a committed interracial relationship. Shoot, the came out sounding super patronising. Not how I meant it at all."
Hank downed some of his coffee. It had sounded patronising, but he ignored that aspect of it. "Thanks, but I don't even think of it as an interracial relationship. It's just a relationship to me. Kalinda is the woman I love, and I don't care what race she is." He reflected on that for a second. "That's not how I meant that to sound either. Her race or mine just haven't been a factor. We talked about it and she said she doesn't follow many Hindu beliefs, although she does make time to pray every day."
Erin had been listening with interest while eating her bacon and eggs. "Have you prayed with her?"
That question gave Hank a jolt – the kind of feeling his mind associated with screwing something up on a case. "I haven't. Truthfully? It never occurred to me to suggest it. And Kalinda hasn't suggested it."
"Guess maybe she thinks you wouldn't be interested. Would you be interested?"
Hank nodded. "I'd pray with her. It might mean a lot to her if I told her I'd like to do that, huh?"
"I think it would," Erin said confidently.
Greatly appreciating the advise, Hank reached out and touched her hand. He wished showing affection to her didn't feel so out of place. "Thanks for helping my old ass with things I ought to think of for myself."
Erin looked at his hand on hers for a moment, then moved it, instead taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Will this ever feel right?" Her tone told him that she badly wanted the reassurance that it would.
"I think it will," he said with confidence. The words were chosen carefully so that he didn't outright promise something when there was a hopefully only slight chance of it not happening.
"I hope so. I do want calling you dad to feel right to me."
"Whether you call me it or not, I'm going to be the best dad I can."
He could see that meant a lot to Erin. Not knowing what to say, after a few moments she changed the subject and conversation turned to the impending shopping trip.
Less than an hour later, Hank parked his car outside of Kalinda's apartment and sent her a text to say that he and Erin had arrived. He didn't blame her for not waiting outside as a light rain shower was falling, and as always it was cold.
A few minutes went by, then Kalinda emerged from the building. As ever, Hank found both her appearance and her outfit extremely appealing. He didn't look forward to summer arriving, when the leather would have to go away for a few months.
"I really love Kalinda's style," Erin said from the passenger seat. "She's got a look that suits her so perfectly. What I'd give to have that."
"Don't talk yourself down," he said. It was obvious to both of them that he wasn't the person to try giving fashion advice.
Kalinda got into the car on Erin's side. "Good morning. Are you both well?"
"Hey. Yes, we're good," Hank said, turning in his seat so that she could lean forward and give him a peck on the lips.
"Been looking forward to this," Erin said. "You really can't beat window shopping."
Hank looked at her in near disbelief. "You mean we're going to walk around stores all day and you don't even intend to buy anything?"
Both women burst out laughing.
"Hank, my love, you've got a lot to learn about women and shopping," Kalinda said.
He didn't think that was the kind of learning he really wanted to do, but he focussed on the fact that he was spending the day with his partner and his daughter. A few months ago he would have longed for this, no matter what was on the day's agenda. Just thinking that lifted his spirits significantly.
"Okay, window shopping it is," he said as he got the car moving.
Part of Hank had wondered if a day window shopping was really something people were capable of. After a couple of hours walking around a mall, he had to admit that Kalinda and Erin were not far off it. Kalinda had bought two relatively inexpensive and unimportant things, whereas Erin had bought nothing at all.
"Ah, I'll use the facilities," Kalinda said, noticing that they were approaching a sign for bathrooms.
Hank and Erin found a nearby empty bench and sat down to wait for her.
"Are you really going to buy nothing all day?" he asked her. "Even clothes that you looked at and said you really liked, you put back."
Erin sighed. "Honestly? I don't have money. Neither does Jay. Well, we do have some between us that would hopefully be enough for a deposit on a place, but we're obviously saving that. Other than that we're on our asses until I get my first pay check from the detective agency."
"Why didn't you say something?" he demanded. "I'll advance you your first pay check tomorrow."
"Thank you, but I don't want you to do that. You wouldn't do it for Alexa, so it shouldn't happen for me either. I want to make my own way. It's just that when Kalinda suggested shopping I couldn't bring myself to tell her I have no money. It's embarrassing."
Hank reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. "In that case, I understand what you're saying about your pay check, but what I can do is give my daughter some money to treat herself to something nice." He took out a hundred bucks and offered it to her.
For a moment, Erin hesitated over whether to accept it or not. She took it and gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, dad. That's really kind. Sorry I'm such a train wreck."
"Shush. You're not a train wreck."
Spotting Kalinda coming back, Erin quickly put the money in her pocket and changed the subject. "Had a message from Kim earlier. She's really looking forward to starting work with us tomorrow."
Kalinda arrived in time to hear that. "It was a sad time at the end of her last shift with Intelligence. Kevin said to me with her and Hank gone the heart and soul have been torn out of the place."
That genuinely hurt Hank because he knew Atwater had to be hurting himself to say something like that. "Keep an eye on him for me, Kalinda. He's a good man."
"Yeah, he is. And don't worry, I take my partnerships seriously. Shall we head down the escalator?"
"Yeah, let's do that," Erin said, getting up and quickly dropping the subject that she had just started.
Hank took Kalinda's hand and they rode the escalator together, with Erin on the step in front of theirs. Hank happened to look at Kalinda at the same moment she looked at him. Her face absolutely lit up and she gave him a peck on the lips. Little moments like that were what convinced him that he ought to propose sooner rather than later, once they were living together. The depth of the love he felt for her was immeasurable.
"Hey, look!" Erin cried, pointing at a store near the bottom of the escalator.
"Oh, we've got to go in there!" Kalinda responded.
Hank was frozen to the spot. They were talking about a store that advertised 'lingerie and bedroom toys'. He had no intention of going anywhere near it. The mere thought was embarrassing enough.
"I'll leave you guys to it," he said at the bottom of the escalator, starting to head towards another bench.
"Aw, are you not going to come in with me?" Kalinda asked in disappointment.
Behind her, Erin was giving Hank a look that quite clearly said, 'Go with her.'
He stood there wavering. Could he really go into a store like that?
Kalinda stepped up to him and spoke for his ears only. "They sell leather things in most places like that too. Come and find something and I'll wear it for you."
In truth, Hank still didn't want to go in. But he knew that he pretty much had to now, unless he wanted to spoil the mood of the day. Since he was going to go into the store, he figured he could do it in an upbeat manner.
"Well why didn't you just say that?" he replied, making her laugh.
Erin led the way into the store. It dawned on Hank that he had given her money to treat herself, and this was where she was going to spend it. He shook his head. Thankfully, he was behind Kalinda so she didn't see it.
Walking into the store, Hank tried not to blush. He felt blessed that no staff member came over and said, 'Is there anything I can get for you, sir?'
Right away, Kalinda spotted some leather outfits at the back of the store. Hank followed her, maintaining tunnel vision so as not to look at some of the store's other offerings which would certainly have made him blush.
"See anything you like, Hank?" Kalinda asked when they got to the back of the store.
Some of the outfits were on mannequins. One was modelling a one piece number that was mostly leather, but had black lace over the breasts, giving a slightly see-through effect. The bottom part of it was so revealing that it barely existed. He had no idea what the style was called our how he would describe it, all he knew was that it would look mind-blowingly hot on Kalinda.
"That one," he said gesturing with his head. "Would you wear that?"
Kalinda made sure to look him in the eyes when she said, "I would."
"Would you sign something to that effect?"
That cracked Kalinda up. Her loud laughter drew attention from staff and customers alike, much to Hank's embarrassment. Still, she had agreed to wear the outfit.
"In that case, let's buy it. Well, you buy it. I'll give you the money."
Kalinda giggled. "Okay, I'll buy it. But I need to see if they have my size, then try it on first."
"Right," Hank said. All he had wanted to do was grab the outfit, throw some money at an assistant and get the hell out of there. But that was not to be. There was something else on his mind, however. "Get some new gloves too. The long ones."
"I have some of those."
"Get more. They might be similar, but they won't be the same."
She accepted that. "Okay, we'll find some new gloves too."
Soon, Kalinda had the items she wanted to try on, and had taken them into a fitting room. Unfortunately for Hank, he wouldn't get to see her wearing them yet. He was left to linger awkwardly in the main part of the store. Even worse, Erin walked by him, heading for the fitting rooms herself with some lingerie that Hank steadfastly refused to look at.
"Hey," Erin said cheerfully, very much enjoying his discomfort.
"I'm going to pay you back for this," he said, sounding serious when in fact he wasn't, as Erin was aware.
"Bring it," she said, disappearing around the corner.
A/N: We've gone from Hank drinking cocktails to Hank in a lingerie store. Who could have imagined that at the start of the story?