Help Me Heal

Chapter 5

Hank woke to the sound and smell of bacon frying the next morning. He had slept in his bedroom, apparently without closing the door. He kept a guest bedroom prepared at all times in case anyone came to stay, although no one ever did, until last night anyway. Kalinda had slept there, apparently rising before him and making herself at home in his kitchen, not that he minded that at all. The clock on his nightstand told him it was just after 6am.

His head felt a little fuzzy as he got out of bed, but he certainly wasn't hung over. It took more than a few double shots of whisky to do that. Before going downstairs, he took a quick shower and dressed for work.

The sound of the bacon frying had stopped by the time he walked down the stairs. He found Kalinda sitting at the kitchen island, phone in one hand and a sandwich in the other. There was another sandwich on a plate waiting for Hank, along with a cup of coffee. She was dressed in her clothes from the night before of course, and somehow looked as fresh as a daisy. Her hair was in that tight bun again. That disappointed him a little. He wanted to see her hair down.

"Morning," Kalinda said with her mouth full. Cops rarely had airs or graces. "Hope you don't mind me raiding the place? Made you my special: a bacon and egg sandwich. If you don't like it, there's something wrong with you."

The soft, posh English accent was a delight first thing in the morning. But Hank kept his reaction to a simple smile in greeting. "Morning. I'm sure it'll be delicious." He sat down next to her and went right to work on the sandwich. Indeed it was delicious. "Very nice," he opined, with his mouth full.

"Hank?"

"Yeah?"

"Last night was inappropriate, wasn't it?"

"No," he said almost immediately. "We went for a few drinks, and you slept in a guest room at my place because it got too late to head home."

"And we cuddled and cried together on the sofa. Well, I did the crying, but you get my point. I woke up this morning wondering if you'd want me to leave Intelligence."

"Leave Intelligence? Of course not," he insisted. "If there was any wrongdoing, which there wasn't, it was mine. No, I don't want you to leave the team. I want us both to feel good about a night that we both needed, and I want you to come over for a drink again sometime."

There, he had said it. It was true, and he felt like it was best if she knew where he stood.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. I'd like to do it again, now that I know you're okay with it. But, Hank, you are my boss. Let's not forget that."

"I haven't forgotten it. And I know what gossip can be like in a police station, so we'll keep it quiet, even though all we're doing is enjoying each other's company."

Finished with her sandwich, Kalinda washed it down with some coffee then shrugged. "Whatever you want. We'll keep it quiet, even though all we're doing is enjoying each other's company, as you said. Church and state, too."

"Huh?" he said, mouth full again.

"Church and state. Outside of work, we can share drinks and wallow in our misery together. But at work, you're the sergeant and I'm the detective. You'll treat me no different to how you'd treat me if last night and anything else that comes from it never happened, and I'll do the same with you. When we're on shift, you're my boss and nothing more. That's how it has to be. We're professionals."

Hank nodded seriously as he picked up his coffee cup. One good think about being the kind of age that he and Kalinda were was the maturity they had. She was absolutely right, and he knew it. "You're exactly right. That's how it will be," he said.