The Soldier and The Spy: Tess Danvers- Episode 3

Chapter 3

Present Day

The quiet shuffle of footsteps on the stairs caught her attention straightaway but Tess waited until she heard the soft knock on the door to turn, returning Kim's smile as she paused in the threshold.

"Hey. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"Pretty good." She answered, turning around fully in her chair so she could face the other woman. Jay had left a half hour ago with Kevin, Hailey, and Vanessa to check out a possible lead while she stayed down here to keep working, and though she'd expected to do that alone it probably wasn't a bad thing if she could get to know one of his teammates a bit better. Even if she did wonder whether Kim had come on her own or been sent.

Did it matter either way?

Not really.

"I'm not doing much at this point, just waiting for my programs to do their thing. You should have these pricks rounded up in time for lunch."

"That fast?"

She nodded and watched as the officer's shoulders drop with relief.

"Good."

Kim didn't say anything else but she didn't leave either, just walked into the room and leant against the desk across from her, her eyes flicking over the monitors as though she could see through the lines of code to the horrific images that lay underneath. She probably could. She also probably didn't need to. She'd worked enough cases like this one that the images were likely seared into her brain.

Just like they were for Tess now.

"It's a bonus of operative work- not having to see this everyday." She explained when Kim looked her way. "Kids always get caught in the crossfire but this... it's a whole other kind of awful."

"Yeah. I never used to understand how someone could hurt a child but now..." She trailed off and for a moment they sat in silence, Kim stuck in her head and Tess stuck watching as the younger woman's hand drifted to her abdomen, where just a few short months ago her own child had been growing.

She would've been content to let it go if she hadn't seen that, to change the conversation to something more positive but that hand and the way it ghosted over her stomach, fingers clenching before they moved back and gripped the desk... Tess couldn't ignore that. She could never ignore someone in pain but especially not one she'd felt herself. Not one that was so primal, so... visceral.

So current.

"You know, a few years after Jay and I first got together I got pregnant."

Kim went on guard immediately but she quickly realized what Tess had said, not just what it said about what she knew about her but what she was sharing about herself and her mouth opened then shut, the wariness in her rich brown eyes softening just as swiftly as it had grown. "What happened?"

"It was ectopic, so I had to have an abortion; they found it while I was having a medical so everything was done... quickly." Within hours, but she didn't say that. She also made a concentrated effort not to shrug it off, to fight the voices murmuring in the back of her mind that this was too personal, too close, almost comforted by the twisting in her gut as she reminded herself that she could deal with it. "It's not the same as what you went through but the feeling of having something that isn't quite real yet be ripped away from you... I imagine that's the same."

"Yeah. Yeah, I think it is."

They shared a knowing look and despite the whispers and tightness Tess found herself leaning closer. "I gave Jay shit for not saying anything to you and Adam. I mean, I get it, it would have been one hell of an awkward explanation but he could have done it. Or just, you know, lied. What men typically do when they have to talk about their feelings."