"So I told him that he needs to either let me do my job or I walk."
"You did not!?"
Kate nodded at the woman across from her as she drained her third glass of wine, the sweet nectar doing little to loosen the anxious knot in her chest at the memory of her recent standoff with her boss slash boyfriend.
She hated locking horns with him at work but they simply couldn't let their personal relationship get in the way of how they operated as a unit and, from the knowing look in Sam Miller's bright green eyes, she could see the inner turmoil plaguing her friend.
"Well, I suppose it's about time someone put Hank Voight in his place."
Kate shook her head, her fingertips rotating the stem of her glass, the swirling liquid casting patterns across the wooden table in dim restaurant lighting.
"I hate doing it Sam but things have been...difficult ever since New York. I dunno, he just looks at me differently now."
Sam considered Kate from across the table for a moment, eyebrow raised high on her forehead.
"I told you."
Kate looked at Sam quizzically, brows furrowed.
"Told me what?"
"I told you he was forbidden fruit so, what did you do? You went and took a big, juicy bite anyway!"
Both women shared a light laugh until Sam leaned forwards, bracing her elbows on the table, looking Kate dead in the eye.
"This was never going to be a walk in the park, Katie. Not only has that man got more enemies than you can shake a stick at, but he has this..." Her hands gestured in the air as she searched for the right words "...desire to shield everyone he cares about from all of the bad things life has to offer. A trait not too dissimilar to someone else I know."
Sam gave her a pointed look and Kate dropped her chin with a sigh, knowing full well that Miller had hit the nail on the head but it didn't mean that she couldn't be pissed at their situation.
"But one thing I can say for sure, is that Hank Voight absolutely trusts you as a detective. He trusts your instincts and he knows that you'll get the job done. It just seems like he's having a bit of trouble with the thought of you being in harms way and, given what happened in New York, I can't say I blame him."
"I get it, really I do but we set boundaries for a reason, Sam. When we're at work, I can't be Kate and he can't be Hank...otherwise it just isn't going to work. Do you really think he'd bench Burgess, Upton or, heaven forbid, one of the guys because he was worried about them getting hurt?" She shook her head. "This is the career we chose. We all know the risks."
Miller nodded, draining the last of her wine before motioning for the bartender.
"Can we have another round please? Actually, better just bring the bottle."
Kate snorted at the request and followed suit, swallowing the last of her wine in two gulps before letting out a long breath.
"Look Katie, if he's worth it to you, then you talk and you make it work. If the way he looks at you is anything to go by, I think you two will navigate your way through this just fine."
Kate reached across the table, grasping one of Sam's in her own and giving it a gentle squeeze, ever grateful that she had such an incredible friend in her life.
"I appreciate you Sam Miller. Anyway, enough about me. What happened with Guterra? I never heard from you so I assumed the slippery prick disappeared back under whatever rock he crawled out from under."
YOU ARE READING
Perfect Storm
Fanfiction[Book 1 of the Kate Meadows/ Hank Voight series] Chicago hadn't been an obvious choice but Kate knew getting away from New York was the right decision. What she hadn't counted on was the ghosts of her past following not too far behind her...oh, and...
