Perfect Storm

Chapter 16 - Let Them Come

"Hello?"

"In the kitchen."

Kate toed her boots off in the hallway, haphazardly slinging her keys into the granite bowl on the sideboard as she shrugged off her jacket, hanging it on the hook next to his. Padding across the hardwood floor, she hovered in the archway for a moment, drinking in the sight before her. Hank had his back to her, a dish towel thrown over one shoulder as he wielded a frying pan over the stove with an air of confidence that had Kate tilting her head with a wry grin.

'How very domestic.'

There were a bunch of salad ingredients sat on the counter and, from the aromas circling around the kitchen, he had some vegetables roasting in the oven. With a smile, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her lips to the nape of his neck before nuzzling her cheek against his back, drowning in the familiar scent of him.

"Hey, how'd it go? Doc give you the all clear?"

"Hmm-mmm. Stitches are out and Dr Halstead says I'm cleared for active duty."

Planting a kiss between his shoulder blades, she released him from her grip and meandered over to the fridge, pulling out a beer and twisting off the cap.

"Not that I should have been benched in the first place. It was just a scratch." Her grumbled complaint drew a stern look from Hank who silently told her not to start that conversation up again. Deciding to change the subject, she took a long draw from the bottle in her hand and moved to rest her weight against a nearby counter, watching him work with curious interest.

"How was your day? Catch any bad guys?"

He was quiet for a moment before he took the pan off the heat, placing it on a cool hob at the back of the stove before pulling the towel from his shoulder, wiping his hands in the fabric.

"We arrested Bunny Fletcher."

Kate's eyes bugged in her head, swallowing a mouthful of beer slowly.

"Erin's Mom? For what?"

"She called Erin this morning to say that Johnny Martelli was in her apartment with two rounds in his chest. Turns out Martelli and his partner were dealing pills and, after he was killed, Bunny tried to skate off with the product but the FBI tracked her down."

He let out a long sigh, resting one hand on the counter and, for the first time since arriving at his house, she got a good look at him. He looked completely exhausted. He had dark shadows under his eyes and a pinched expression that she hadn't seen on him in a long time.

"Erin made a deal with the Feds...Bunny gets released in exchange for Erin accepting a position with the FBI. She's gone Kate."

Kate stopped dead, the bottle of beer paused en-route to her lips as she took a second to process what he had just told her.

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"She took the job with the FBI. She already left for New York."

His simple response accompanied a casual shrug of his shoulders but Kate instinctively knew that he was in pieces on the inside.

"Oh baby." She muttered, placing the bottle down and crossing the room, pulling him into her arms as he buried his face into her neck. Kate cupped the back of his head with one hand, threading her fingers through his hair as she rubbed soothing circles on his back with the other, holding him tight as he desperately tried to keep himself together.

Erin was, for all intents and purposes, his daughter and the thought of her not being in his life every day left him with a dull ache in the centre of his chest. He knew it was the right decision, hence why he'd taken her in his arms and told her to go and not look back. But knowing it was the right decision didn't make it any easier.