Chapter Text
A cracked rib, dislocated shoulder, bruised jaw, concussion and quite a few other cuts and bruises. Those are the injuries Kate Whistler sustained from her fight with Andrea Medina at agent Jones’ house. Everything hurt and she should most definitely be horizontal, resting at home and yet, she found herself waiting at Lucy’s desk to see for herself that she’s okay. While a bit uncomfortable, their conversation had started well. To Kate’s surprise, Lucy had even thrown in a surf quote. But then things went south real fast.
“I’ve, uh… I’ve been seeing this.” Lucy took a breath. “I- uh… never mind.”
Upon hearing those words, a whole other level of pain got added to the immense pain she was already in. She took a breath, trying to keep tears from forming. Lucy was seeing someone else. “Okay, well… I- I guess I should go.” the tall blonde said. Her headache and heartache were getting worse, she had to get out of there. Kate slowly moved past Lucy and made her way towards the elevator far too slow for her liking.
“Is it true?” Lucy asked when Kate was barely a few steps from her desk.
“Uh, what?” the blonde turned around to face the small agent again.
“That you turned down a big job in D.C. so you could stay here in Hawai’i?” Lucy asked.
Kate didn’t know how Lucy found out but the question had her feeling hopeful. “Yes.” the blonde smiled.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” the small agent asked, tears no longer staying away.
“I was going to…” Kate started, taking a step towards Lucy. The NCIS agent took a step back and it took Kate all the power she could muster not to look more hurt at that. “…and then, you know, all that… all that business with Cara happened.” Kate tried to explain.
“No. No, don’t. I will not let you hurt me anymore. I won’t let you do this to me.” Lucy interrupted her.
“Because I wanted to be closer to you?” Kate asked in complete disbelief.
“No. No, because you ruined everything.” Lucy said angrily. “Because we had something so special and you broke my heart into a million pieces.” the small agent cried. “Because I loved you, Kate.”
Kate stood there in shock. The woman she loves just told her she loved her. “I-“ Kate started, wanting to finally tell Lucy how she really feels.
“Don’t. Don’t say anything else, please.” Lucy cut her off before quickly walking past Kate and out of the bullpen, leaving Kate standing there alone, emotionally and physically hurt.
Kate couldn’t move as the tears steadily fell down her cheeks. Lucy loved her. Past tense. Noah was the last person to tell her she was loved. It hit her hard, it felt like the world was spinning. Her headache was even worse, her breathing was uneven and she felt nauseous. Trying to get her breathing under control, she made her way to the restroom as fast as she could, barely making it to one of the toilets in time before she emptied the contents of her stomach. Immense pain radiated through her body as she let it come out, the fall to her knees and retching only making her pain even worse.
***
Jane had told Lucy that she was going to make some tea but had gone to Ernie’s lair to give the two women some privacy as they talked. Both Lucy and Kate are important women in her life and she hates seeing them both hurting so much so she hoped that this talk would get them to move forward. She smiled when she saw that the bullpen was empty when she rounded the corner but that smile quickly faded when she heard a retching sound coming from the restroom.
Whether it was her mom instincts or her friend instincts, she knew this wasn’t good. Jane gently knocked on the door before opening it to see Kate on the floor looking super pale, sweaty and in a lot of pain with tears running down her cheeks.
“Kate!” she gasped, kneeling in front of the other woman.
“I’m fine.” the blonde said, trying to get up but wincing with every move she made.
“You don’t look fine.” Jane said, concern all over her face as she helped her friend stand up and walk over to the sink. The NCIS SAC handed Kate a couple wet paper towels to clean herself up. “What happened?” the brunette asked after a while.
Kate sighed. “We talked. Well, Lucy talked. It started out so well but then she started about me turning down the promotion in D.C. and things went south so fast after that.” the tall blonde said before taking a shuddering breath. “Lucy told me she loved me. Past tense. I wanted to tell her how I feel but she told me not to say anything and walked away.” she added, fresh tears in her eyes and holding herself up as best as she could in all her pain.
“Oh, Kate.” Jane said, voice full of sympathy. “Come on, let’s get you to a doctor. Make sure you didn’t get injured even more with this.” she said, moving to help Kate stay upright.
“I’m fine.” Kate winced. “No need to go to a doctor. I just need to sleep this off.”
Jane didn’t feel good about it but she also knew Kate could be stubborn. “Alright. Come on, let’s get you home.” the brunette opened the door as she supported Kate as she walked.
The walk over to the car took them a while and Kate was exhausted by the time Jane carefully helped her into the passenger seat. They drove in a comfortable silence to Kate’s building. Once they were there, Jane carefully helped Kate out of her car.
“You don’t need to stay here.” Kate said, knowing Jane was about to get her bag with spare clothes.
“Kate, you have a concussion and other serious injuries. You shouldn’t be alone right now.” Jane said.
“I’ll be fine. I promise.” Kate tried to assure her friend. “You go get your relaxing evening you deserve so much. I know how much you were looking forward to that.”
“I was looking forward to that but I’m more worried about you.” Jane said sincerely.
“Don’t be.” Kate winced as she moved to stand differently. “I got checked out this morning and got cleared to leave the hospital. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Jane gave in, knowing she couldn’t get Kate to change her mind. “But you promise to call me if anything feels worse or if you’re in extreme pain.”
“I promise.” Kate agreed.
“Okay.” Jane breathed. “Come on, let me at least make sure you’re settled for the night so I have that peace of mind.”
“Fine.” Kate said before they slowly made their way to Kate’s apartment.
Kate was glad she put on loose and comfy clothes after she got back from the hospital earlier that day. It was already late and she was exhausted so Kate just got ready for bed. The only thing she really could use some help with was to take the sling off. Jane more than happy to carefully help Kate take the sling off before walking into the kitchen to get Kate her meds and a glass of water as the blonde finished getting ready.
“The coast is clear.” Kate said as she slowly sat down on the edge of her bed.
Jane gasped a little when she walked in with the meds and water, now seeing some of the extent of Kate’s injuries. Her friend’s was wearing a tank top and she could see that her arms were covered in bruises and her shoulder had taken on a nasty color already too. Her legs had some nasty bruises as well but not as bad as her arms. She handed Kate, who was still pale and a little sweaty, the glass of water and the pills.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Jane asked after a moment, still very concerned.
“I’m sure.” Kate nodded as best as she could in her exhausted state that was getting bigger by the minute.
“Okay. And you will call me if you feel worse again.” Jane said.
“I promise.” the blonde yawned.
“Alright.” Jane nodded before helping Kate settle into the bed. “Good night, Kate.”
“Good night, Jane. And thank you for everything you did tonight. It means a lot.” Kate said, sleep taking her over.
“You’re welcome.” Jane whispered so her friend wouldn’t wake up.
Jane made sure Kate had everything she would need: enough water, her meds at the ready, sling nearby and lastly she plugged in her phone. After checking on Kate one more time, she made sure all the lights were off and left the apartment.