Time for another update.

Chapter 10

Thoughtfully, Al looked at the young woman.

He had already spotted the photo peeking out from among the magazines on her coffee table. A photo of Kim and Hank. So she knew it, about Hank and her. Or at least she suspected it, Al concluded. Kim Burgess seemed to suspect that there had been something between Hank Voight and her in the past that she had forgotten. Something that went beyond the normal relationship between sergeant and officer.

And now Al was waiting for her to call him on it, to ask him the questions. After all, Hank was his best friend. And therefore he had to know - the truth about what is, or had been, between Hank and Kim.

But Kim didn't say a word, didn't ask Al a single question. Nothing.

For a moment, Al wondered if he should just do it. I mean, whether he should just tell Kim everything. But then Kim took the decision away from him.

"Al, I'm so glad that you, that you all came to see me. But today, there's something I have to do," and for a moment Kim's gaze fell on her coffee table, where the photo was peeking out from under the magazine.

Al knew exactly what Kim was up to. And maybe it was a good thing. Hank literally deserved a good kick in the butt. Al didn't understand the whole thing anyway. You know, if Al were a few years younger and not so happy with his Meredith . . .

"If he doesn't open the door, go around the back of the house. I'm sure he'll be sitting on the porch then. And don't let him send you away, just ask him the questions. Get some answers from him finally," was all Al said before pulling the door shut behind him.

Surprised, Kim looked at the closed door through which Al had just disappeared. So he knew! Why hadn't he told her about what had obviously been going on between Hank and her? Why had he kept her in the dark? And Voight, Hank, why hadn't he said anything? Why had he never been here?

Kim didn't have time to think about it further, though. She grabbed the photo she wanted to talk to Hank about and made her way to his house,

However, her courage almost failed her when she stood in front of his house. A house that lay in complete darkness and for a moment Kim wondered if Hank was even home.

"Maybe I should leave," Kim muttered. No, she wasn't a coward, and she needed answers at last. She wanted to know why her sheets smelled like aftershave. She wanted to know why she had that photo of Hank and herself. She wanted to know why there was a man-sized T-shirt in her closet. And she knew for a fact that it had never belonged to Adam.

Her footsteps led Kim around the house. And as Al had predicted, Hank was sitting on his porch, on the steps, a bottle of beer beside him. He raised his eyes and looked directly at Kim as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Hello," Kim hesitated how to address him. Sarge? Hank? Or did she have a special pet name like darling or something for Hank?

"Burgess," was all Hank said.

Hank hoped she was just here for no other reason than that. Just a friendly visit. That she still didn't remember. Ah, you know, that the memory of their shared past wouldn't come back. Because it was better that way. Because it was better that what was between Kim and him was in the past. It should never have gotten this far - the thing between Kim and him. He realized that by now.

Quizzically, he looked at Kim. But she just sat down wordlessly next to Hank on the steps.

Neither of them said a word. Each of them was lost in thought for a moment. Especially Kim was searching for the right words. She had so many questions for Hank. Just with which question should she start? With the one that was weighing the heaviest on her mind? The question of whether they had been in a relationship.

"My memories of the last few months still haven't come back. The doctors at the Med say to give myself time. Someday, maybe tomorrow or the next day, but someday anyway, that's when I'll be able to remember. Everything. But until then, I have so many questions," Kim began.

Hank nodded. So the conversation would really go in that direction. Kim would ask him questions. And he would have to answer. For a few days he had managed to avoid Kim and all the questions. But now here, in his house, he couldn't run away, only lie. And that was the only thing he would do - lie to Kim.

"I've already gotten answers from the others, at least to most of the questions I've asked them. But there's something I don't know yet. Something that I can only ask you. Please Hank," Kim asked, looking directly at him, "Between us, is there something? Did we have or do we have a relationship?"

Now Kim had said out loud what had been on her mind for a few days. You know, that one thing. The one between Hank and her.

"What gave you that idea?" posed Hank a question in return.

"I found a photo."

"A photo?"

Hank cursed himself inwardly. He had thought he had cleaned up all the clues in Kim's apartment. But apparently he had missed a photo. How stupid he had been not to look more thoroughly for everything.

"Here," Kim said, holding it out to him.

Hank didn't reach for it. He didn't even look at it. He knew what was in the photograph. It was the same one that could be seen in the other photos he had taken from Kim's apartment. A happy couple.

"Hank, explain it to me. The thing between us, whatever it was, explain it to me, please," Kim begged when no word passed Hank's lips even after several minutes of silence.

"What do you want to hear?"

"The truth."

"I can't give you that."

"Why? You owe me the truth. Please, I have to know."

Hank was silent. He didn't look at Kim. He couldn't. He wasn't sure if he could keep this up, if he could keep the lies going if he looked at her.

"And the photo? Hank, explain it to me. What does it mean?" questioningly, Kim looked at him. She finally wanted an answer. She wanted to know if the photo just showed a moment of weakness, or if it had been something special. Whether Hank and she had really been as happy as they were in the photo.

Hank hesitated. Regardless of how much it tore at his heart. He should let her go. He had too. He had no choice if he wanted to protect Kim. When he had seen her in the hospital, he had really realized the danger he was putting her in. And then there were the rules. His rules. He had risked so much for Kim. But he didn't want the price for a few more weeks of happiness to be Kim's life. And besides, she had forgotten, too. Him and their love.

"It means nothing."

Hank could literally feel those words breaking Kim's heart. How he broke Kim's heart with his words.

But it was better that way.

Most definitely.