The next morning, after working late the night before, Kalinda had needed to leave Hank's place before 7am for an early start. Hank reflected that although the working hours of a private detective were not ideal, they were a lot friendlier than what Intelligence often required.

To his surprise, Hank heard the front door open only a few minutes after Kalinda had left. He knew it wasn't her returning because she didn't have a key yet. He was now saving that until she moved it. Erin was the only person the new arrival could be.

"You're home early," he called through from the kitchen, where he was at the table eating breakfast and enjoying his first coffee of the day. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, fine!" Erin called back. He could hear her taking a coat off. "Jay had to be up early for work, so I got up early too and went to the gym. Is Kalinda not here?"

"No. She was on an early start too."

"I see. So, how was your night?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen, adding a smile and a squeeze on his shoulder as a good morning greeting.

"Very good thanks," he replied, enjoying the images of Kalinda in leather pants, naked from the waist up, that his memory was only too happy to recall. Damn, she was gorgeous, and she knew what to wear to excite him. The sex had been great, at least from his point of view. Whether the performances his body was capable of at his age had the same effect on her, he wasn't entirely convinced. "There's coffee," he said, trying to divert the conversation.

"I see that. Do you need another?"

"No thanks, just starting this one."

"What did you get up to last night?" Erin asked as she poured herself a coffee.

"Not a lot. Just relaxed and talked over dinner. Oh, speaking of, Kalinda said she talked to her landlord about you and Jay getting the apartment she's in if she moves in here."

She sat down opposite him. "How did that go?"

"Let's say the guy wasn't overjoyed by the idea, but he agreed to it. Told Kalinda to put you in touch with him if you want to go ahead. Unfortunately he said he's not willing to give you the reduced monthly rate that Kalinda got."

Erin had a big smile on her face. Hank liked seeing that. "Didn't expect him to. I'm going to have to get Kalinda's number from you so I can call her and thank her. She's really helped us out there. That apartment is better than the dumps we could afford. Everything nice was way out of our budget, but Kalinda told us what the regular rate would be for that place and we could afford it, just. It's ideal."

"Sounds like a plan coming together," he said, feeling as happy for Erin and Jay as he did for himself and Kalinda.

"Yes. How are you feeling about Kalinda moving in here? I mean, obviously you're happy, but it wasn't long ago you were upset about Camille. I'm not trying to put a downer on this, I'm sorry."

Hank held up a hand to reassure her. "You're fine. I think what you're trying to ask is am I conflicted?"

"Right," she said, obviously glad that he understood.

"A little," he admitted. "You know I still love Camille. Always will. This was our home, at one time. But you were right when you told me she would want me to move on rather than be lonely and miserable, and Kalinda makes me so happy. Saying that doesn't come easily to me for some reason, I don't know why. But it's true, she makes me happy and I love her deeply. Keep this strictly between the two of us. Don't even tell Jay. Once Kalinda has moved in, I intend to propose to her."

Erin showed no surprise at the news. "Good for you. You guys are perfect together. I have no doubt she'll say yes. Have you planned out how you're going to do it?"

Finished with his food, Hank sat back and drank some coffee, enjoying the strong taste. "Not in detail, but I know what I'd like to do. Both of us could use a vacation, so I'm thinking we could go away to somewhere that's warm at this time of year. Kalinda would love it if we went somewhere that's good for diving, so that's a requirement."

"That's something I've got to try some day," Erin said enthusiastically.

"You should. It's fun and relaxing at the same time, and some of the sights you get to see are incredible. As you know, it's a big passion of Kalinda's so enjoying it together will be special."

"You're not going to propose to her underwater are you?"

Hank laughed loudly at the ridiculous question, and his laughter made Erin laugh also. It was a nice moment. "How would that even work? No, I'm not going to do that. I'd find a romantic way to do it while we were on the vacation. Before that, I obviously need to buy a ring. Would you come with me and help me choose one?"

"Of course," she said without hesitation. "I think a silver one would be good. She wears a silver ring on her left thumb and it looks great with her skin tone. Maybe a silver one with some kind of engraved pattern on it? Then when you get married, another silver one with a gem stone of some kind and she could wear both rings."

Hank nodded his appreciation for the input. "This is why I knew asking you would be a good idea. Let's go ring shopping some time with those thoughts in mind."

"We'll do that," she promised.

A few moments of pleasant, comfortable silence passed as they both drank their coffee. Then Hank remembered the new client he had taken on the day before. He and Erin hadn't seen each other at the office since the meeting with Giulia Matsudo, so she wouldn't know unless Kim had told her. He began the story, discovering that Erin and Kim hadn't talked about it, so he recounted the conversation in detail.

"That's good work we've picked up," Erin said. "Given the number of businesses they apparently own, there's a lot of billable hours there. Who are you going to put on it?"

"Everyone. We'll all pitch in. Actually, I think I might be able to put some work Jay's way on it, if he has the time."

"He'll have the time," she assured him. "You know how much we need the money, especially now it looks like we've found somewhere to live together. We're struggling, but I'm just so happy to be with him, dad."

Calling him dad was starting to come naturally to her, Hank noticed. It gave him a sense of happiness that he felt to his core. "I'm really happy for you. For both of you." He decided not to mention their treatment of Hailey. His thoughts on that had been made perfectly clear. "If there's anything I can do to help you with moving, let me know. Kalinda would be happy to help too, I'm sure."

Erin smiled. "That's very kind." She got up from the table, holding her now empty coffee cup. "Another drink?"

"Sure," he said, handing his cup over.

Erin went over fix the drinks. "Kalinda's going to have her own moving to do. I'll help out if needed."

"Thanks, I'll tell her that. Although I think we'll be fine. We'll just need to hire a van."

"Well, I'll mention it later when I call her."

"Do that," Hank said, pleased with the development. Erin was going to take a step in building a relationship with Kalinda. He knew how important that would be to Kalinda, who so badly wanted to take on some kind of motherly role. He knew Erin would never think of her as a mother, that simply wasn't going to happen. But developing some mother/daughter dynamics between them was not out of the question. Personally, he very much hoped that would happen.

That evening, after another long shift, Kalinda had called Hank and asked him to come over to her place and bring something to drink, saying that she needed it after two days that had 'kicked her bloody arse'.

Hank had chosen to take a bottle of whisky that had been sitting in his kitchen for weeks. It was good whisky, and would be ideal for taking the edge off Kalinda's exhaustion. He knew she only drank whisky with Coke as a mixer, so he had taken an unopened bottle from his fridge.

For the first time, Hank used his key for the apartment when he arrived. Opening the door, warm air and the now familiar incense smell hit him. He found Kalinda walking towards him from the living area with a beautiful smile on her face. She was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and black shorts, a no nonsense outfit that was still appealing because it showed him a lot of leg.

"Thought I'd better use the key at least once," he said, intending it to funny.

Her smile broadened, showing that he had succeeded somewhat. "I'm glad you did. How was your day?" She reached him and they kissed before he could answer.

"It was fine. Busy. The good kind of busy. Picked up a new client. We can talk about that later. I brought whisky and Coke." He offered the plastic bag that contained the drinks.

"Oh, nice," she said, taking the bag and heading straight for the kitchen. "A strong whisky and Coke is exactly what I need after the past couple of days. Do you want Coke with yours?"

"I wouldn't dream of ruining good whisky with Coke," he replied as he took his jacket off and hung it up.

"Ah, a whisky snob, huh?" she teased him. "How about ice, or is that ruining it too?"

"I'll take a little ice," Hank said, joining her in the kitchen. She attempted to walk to the fridge but he deliberately stood in the way. "Missed you today."

"I missed you too," she said lovingly, looking up at him as they stood very close to each other. She was so alluring to Hank that even this excited him. He reached behind her head and let her hair down, enjoying watching her shake it loose for him. It was noticeably getting longer, he thought.

"There. Perfect," he commented before giving her a kiss.

"I want to pour this whisky," she said, teasing him again by no-selling the compliment.

He stepped aside. "Don't let me hold you up."

"Erin called me today," Kalinda announced. She went on to summarise that conversation while she fixed the drinks. There was nothing Hank hadn't expected. The two women had talked about the apartment changing hands, and how the moving situation might work out. By the time Kalinda finished recounting it, they were sitting next to each other on the couch.

"I'm glad you two are talking. Erin likes you a lot, you know? Maybe one time you could go out just the two of you? A girls night out, or whatever."

"Yeah, maybe," Kalinda said brightly. "That's something I'd be up for."

"How about a vacation? Would you be up for that?"

"A vacation with Erin?" Kalinda asked with humour.

Hank sighed at the joke, pretending not to find it funny although it had amused him. "No, with me. A week away, somewhere hot. White beaches, clear blue waters, great diving, just me and you."

All humour left the conversation and Kalinda moved closer to him, cuddling up. "That sounds absolutely wonderful to me. When and where are you thinking about?"

"Where, I don't know, other than what I just said about it. As for when, I'm thinking once the moving is out of the way. Moving is always stressful, so what better time to take a break? Come away with me, Kalinda."

She got that loving look in her eyes again, which was the exact reason he had added the last sentence.

"I'll go away with you, Hank. Anywhere, so long as it's me and you. I love you."

"I love you too," Hank said, but what he was thinking was that it was time to buy a ring.

A/N: Erin and Kalinda are beginning to form a connection. Do you think that will be good for all involved?

And what do you think of Hank's plan to propose?