A Man of Service A John Wick Fanfic

Chapter 10

T/W – adult situations, swearing

They slept entwined in each other's arms for an hour or so, but woke up hungry and got into just enough clothes to make themselves comfortable. Kate cooked and John assisted, preparing a pasta and vegetable dish, along with a long loaf of Italian bread. John found a nice red wine to accompany it and they finally sat down to a hot meal around 9 pm.

Kate amused him with stories from her performing days in Vegas and then the conversation turned darker with the mention of Anthony Tortorelli and the cruelty he inflicted on Kate.

"He's not going to find you here," John promised her, reaching across the table and touching her hand. "He's not."

"John, he's the kind of guy who finds the needle in the haystack," she told him, slightly frightened. "He's a damn bloodhound and pitbull combined and won't give up."

"Look, Kate, I'm going to take care of it. That's all I can tell you," he promised, looking in her eyes. "You have to trust me."

Kate smiled warmly. "I do trust you. I just don't want you to get hurt. Anthony is a real bastard."

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself."

"I know, I know, it's just that I don't want to lose you."

"Kate," he began slowly and paused. "You know I have to go back to New York. You can have a life here. A good life. Without me. We can't go any farther. It's going to be hard enough to leave you. If we spend any more time together, I'll never be able to let go. Do you understand?"

"You're going to leave me here and not come back?" she asked incredulously.

"In the top drawer of the dresser in the bedroom, you'll find plenty of money. There are gold coins in there too. If anything ever happens, go to The Chicago Continental, pass a coin to the concierge and ask for the manager. Ben Whitby. He knows about you...."

"No, John," she said standing up. "I'm not staying here without you."

"Katie-girl, we have to say goodbye," he told her, his face looking at the ground. "Even if we were to both go back to New York, I wouldn't be able to see you and then I wouldn't be able to protect you."

Kate thought a moment. Barely over a whisper she asked, "Is this because of Helen?"

"No," he answered her softly. "It's because we can't be together any longer. Last night.....last night....shouldn't have happened. We're vastly different people living in different worlds and they'll never mesh. It's reality. Last night was....fantasy."

She searched his face for any kind of reassurance. There was none. "You regret last night?"

"No," he said, touching her face with his hand. "No, Katie. Last night was a dream that came true. But now we have to face reality. And we just can't go any farther."

She didn't want to cry in front of him. She wanted to show him that she was stronger than that, but she couldn't help it. Tears flooded her eyes and fell down her face as she went to him and threw her arms around his neck.

"If we commit to each other completely," he said, caressing her hair. "I won't be able to leave you. The bond is almost too strong now. I love you, Katie, but I have to leave you. There's no other way."

"I love you," she whispered back to him.

John left her around midnight with Kate waving to him as she stood in the driveway. Her face was stoic, but her mind was racing around in wild circles. She suddenly understood completely. He was leaving her to protect her from his lifestyle. Kate should have told him she knew. She knew and went to bed with him anyway...she loved him anyway.

Maybe it was wrong. Maybe it was really wrong. But she didn't care. Kate didn't care before and she didn't care now. And as for Anthony? Well, if she and John were together, she'd be safe. If they stayed at the Continental, that would be another layer of protection.

It was then she decided to go back to New York...to The Continental...to John. She'd get him to understand. She'd get him to understand how much she loved him, how she didn't care about his lifestyle, how she accepted him just as he was. He had to know how much she loved him.

John had 12 hours alone in the car and battled his urge to turn around and head back to Kate. He didn't deserve her; then again, he didn't deserve Helen either. Maybe he could manage to get out again, then he and Kate could be together. It was the only way.

Flashes of Kate from the night before flooded his memory and he realized he ached for her. Her touch, her laugh, her amazing green eyes looking at him with yearning reflected back at him. Should he give it all up and return to his lonely, isolated life with only fading memories to keep him warm? Or should he say, "Fuck it", return to Kate and deal with what he had to deal with as it reared its ugly head?

Ah, but there was one problem. Could he, should he, keep his lifestyle a secret from her until he figured a way out or take his chances and tell her the truth? That he re-pledged to serve the High Table? A real and palpable conundrum. Whatever he decided, Kate's safety was his utmost concern and that included dealing with Anthony Tortorelli.

He loved Kate so, he wondered how he was going to stay away from her. John supposed he would just try to keep her safety....from him, from Tortorelli...his guiding light. He wouldn't weaken. He wouldn't give in. And that, as they say, was final.

When Kate boarded the plane at O'Hare Airport, she was filled with promise and enthusiasm. Of course John would be glad to see her. Of course they were going to profess their undying love to each other. Of course they would leave New York, leave all the Organization shit behind, and settle somewhere safe. That was what the angel on her right shoulder told her. Then the devil's advocate spoke up from her left shoulder. What if he really didn't want her? What if he turned his back to her and told her to go back to Chicago? What if it doesn't really matter to him if she understands his lifestyle or not? What if the night before was only his craving for sex after being celibate for so long?

"Aw, shit," she said to herself as they finally landed at LaGuardia. "What the hell. Sometimes you just gotta say, 'what the hell'."

She thought she had enough confidence in herself to face John. She hoped her angel was right.

As Kate stood there, finally looking in John's eyes, she could tell he was angry, but not angry enough to throw her back into the cab and send her ass back to Chicago.

"Yes," she told him. "It would be too hard to stop. But we don't have to stop, John. I know. I know all about you. Everything. If you're here, I want to be here because I love you."

"Kate," he said, slowly. "You have to get out of here. Look around you. The Continental is destroyed. It was a battle we had to win. And now we need to finish it. Go back to Chicago. I'll find you...I'll find you."

He kissed her gently and walked through the glass doors to the roof of The Continental.