Help Me Heal

Chapter 37

A momentous day had dawned. At 9am, Voight Detective Services was going to open for business. Hank had woken up feeling motivated and happy, looking forward to finally being able to start tackling the new challenge that lay ahead. The setup and preparation phase, while obviously necessary, had been frustrating and at times, tedious. Now it was time to get down to business.

That wasn't the only reason Hank was having a good morning. The previous night, for the first time he had met the friends who Kalinda had briefly lived with. It had been a pleasant if not remarkable evening. The reason it made him happy was that it was another step in his relationship with Kalinda. The next one, presumably, would be to meet her best friend Lucy. Meet in that case would likely mean via a video call since she lived in the UK.

"You've got a real spring in your step," Kalinda commented cheerily. They were eating breakfast at the dining table in her apartment, ahead of beginning their respective workdays.

"Glad to be able to get to work at last. Myself, Erin and Alexa start today. Kim starts a week from today."

Kalinda sat and drank some of her coffee. There was a thoughtful expression on her face. "You know, you're starting out small. You might end up having to pass on work because you don't have the hours available to put into it."

"I'm aware," he assured her, nonetheless appreciating her input. "Wanted to start off quite small while we establish ourselves and make sure we don't struggle to attract business. Assuming there are no problems on that front, I will take more people on."

"Who would you approach, if you know?"

Hank saw no reason not to be frank with his answer. "Ideally, you and Jay. That would be an excellent team of detectives. We talked about this already though, and you gave me a perfectly valid reason why you couldn't leave Intelligence any time soon."

"I'm glad you understand," she said, obviously not considering changing her mind. "Everyone speaks highly of Jay at the 21st though, so he'd be a good hire, assuming he'd accept your offer of employment."

Hank never failed to enjoy the way she worded things. 'Accept your offer of employment' sounded so much better than 'take the job', especially in her well-spoken accent. He would truly never tire of that.

"What's that little grin about?" she asked with some amusement.

"Nothing. Just enjoying talking to you."

"Aww," Kalinda gushed. "You say the sweetest things sometimes, Hank."

"Just don't let anyone know," he said deadpan.

They ate in contended silence for a minute or so before Kalinda spoke. "Hank, would you join me if I started going to a gym? I want to work out but I'd struggle terribly with motivation if I were to try going alone."

He wasn't against the idea of going to a gym. In truth, he probably could use it. Of late, he hadn't been particularly active and Kalinda's sizeable dinners did have a downside.

"That's a good idea," he said. "What has made you think about it though? You're fit as it is. You sure look great."

Kalinda laughed. "Well, thank you. But I really don't. Yesterday I happened to be in the locker room at Intelligence when Gonzalez, the new boss, was changing. She's maybe early forties, yet she's in ridiculous shape. She's built, Hank. I'm talking visible abs, and back muscles you'd have to see to believe. Looking at her made me feel ashamed of myself."

"You have nothing to be ashamed about," he assured her emphatically. "And your body is beautiful the way it is. There's no reason to change it."

"Thank you again," Kalinda said. It clearly meant a lot to her. "Either way, I'd like to get fitter. So would you come to a gym with me?"