Chapter Text
Kate leans forward toward the mirror above the sink in the en suite to their bedroom. Their bedroom. It’s been over six months and she still isn’t used to the concept of them being in a relationship, a romantic relationship.
A loving romantic relationship.
There I go again, she thinks to herself. The brown clay of her eyeliner pencil glides along the hair follicles of the lower eyelash of her left eye as she leans forward toward the mirror, preparing to do her left lower lid. Pausing, Kate notices him standing in the doorway with her peripheral vision. His shoulder leans against the doorframe with his usual flirty smirk adorning his face. “Yes?”
Christofer shakes his head a little, humming a negative implying sound, “nothing, I just like watching you when you do that.”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Kate is unable to keep a wry smile from forming on her own face, “you seem to like watching when I do anything.”
“That would be correct.” Christofer waves his eyebrows, finally sliding into the bath area behind Kate to reach around her, obtaining his toothbrush and the toothpaste. He waits until she doesn’t have the pencil near her eye as she finishes her second lid to lean his face against her neck, his lips pressing a tender kiss just below her ear.
Kate feels a prickly sensation along the contours of her skin, causing a blush to spread across her cheeks. She finds herself tilting her head to the side, granting him more access to the space. “We’re never going to be able to leave if this is how you’re trying to spend the morning.” She raises an eyebrow, an amused expression painting her features, “you need to get going if you’re going to arrive at HQ before me.”
Christofer pouts slightly, moaning a sound of dissatisfaction against her skin. He stands upright, his head leaning up toward the ceiling as he exhales, “you smell really nice.”
“Thank you.” Kate picks her head up, leaning forward once more to start work on her upper eyelashes with the clay pencil.
“Damn.” Christofer groans miserably, keeping his head lead back.
The tone of the noise causes Kate to pause in her movements again, looking at him via his reflection in the mirror in front of them, “what’s wrong?” Her expression turns to that of concern.
“My girlfriend is just...” Christofer shakes his head slowly, painting his face with his best painful expression as he lowers his gaze to look at Kate’s, now relieved yet amused, reflection. “So unbelievably beautiful.” He moves from behind her, stomping and occasionally shouting with fists shaking in the air in mock frustration, “so fit”, “so gorgeous”, and other words pertaining to the same idea.
Kate tries to keep herself from laughing at him, knowing it would only encourage his silly behavior further. However, she enjoys his silliness. A quick huff of a chuckle leaves her lips, “You’re ridiculous.” She leans in, looking at the mirror once more, gliding the pencil along the follicles of her upper eyelids. Doing her best to focus as to not be interrupted by him and his antics again.
She hears him move down the hallway, his strong footsteps muffled by his stocking covered feet. Kate places the cap onto the pencil, setting it down onto the marble countertop. She stares into her own eyes for a moment before she takes a deep breath. Kate ponders every single day how she’s gotten so lucky.
Why now?
Kate unscrews the top of her black-brown mascara, releasing the wand, and brushes the mixture gently against the hair of her eyelashes. She pauses, tilting her head to the side, almost certain she can hear him still walking around down stairs. She sighs to herself.
The longer he takes, the more likely we are to arrive together.
The more likely the chance we’ll be found out.
Truthfully, it wasn’t that Kate worried about the repercussions of their relationship or the implications of it. If she’s demoted or persecuted in any way over something so minor, to which there was nothing in the handbook regarding, she’ll fight it. Christofer is worth fighting for.
At least I don’t think there’s anything in the handbook regarding. I’ll ask Mel.
Kate pauses, sighing as she mutters to herself, “right.” I can’t ask Mel. The whole thing causes Kate a whole other form of stress. A stress she hasn’t experienced for a very long time. Over thirty years ago with her college professor, where the only reason anyone found out about their secret tryst was because she fell pregnant. Which, luckily, isn’t a concern any longer. However, then, it forced the relationship to come to light. She quit University for a spell so that he wouldn’t lose his job. All it did, though, was cause him to lose interest in her. He didn’t want a family, he wanted a fling. It was that day that she learned never to fall on the sword for a man who wouldn’t even consider doing the same for her and her success.
This isn’t the time to rehash old, painful memories. Save it for late at night, after a few glasses of Cabernet and an intense snogging session with Chris.
She closes her eyes, smirking to herself through her own embarrassment. Delighted by the potential imagery.
Kate finishes with her mascara, returning the wand to the tube and securing it. She leaves the sanctuary of the en suite bath, then the bedroom. Her nude feet padding down the hall, noticing Christofer standing near the door, his leather jacket wrapped around his frame and his motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm as he scrolls with his thumb gliding across his mobile screen, held in his opposite hand.
Her eyes widen with frustration and it’s as if he doesn’t even notice her standing there. Something has his attention. Kate uses her hands slightly as she speaks, “darling, why haven’t you left yet?”
“It’d be no use.” Christofer offers his mobile to her to see the texts from Rose Noble, alerting him to a gas leak on the war room of their headquarters, the room where all their desks are, and where they conducted most, if not all, of their business and situational dealings.
Without thinking except the concern of her employees, Kate touches the button to place a call immediately from the phone to the person within the text conversation.
She already has the phone pressed to her ear as Christofer’s eyes widen, unable to stop her movements before it’s simply too late.
“Good morning, Rose. Apologies, but I just want to hear it from you first hand, if you don’t mind. Quicker than a text message. As you mentioned previously, everyone was evacuated. Were there any injuries?” Kate asks the young woman on the other end of the line, moving over to the kitchen area and leaning her back against the counter top.
Rose furrows her brow when she hears the Commander’s voice coming from the other end of the line. She pauses a brief moment, holding her mobile out to confirm the name was correct in who she was communicating with. Not the Commander. She wasn’t expecting the Commander, but decides she isn’t going to draw attention to the issue at the moment. “Melanie and my Mum are being treated for inhalation, but it doesn’t seem as if anyone else was affected. We’re in contact with the Vlinx, who was not removed, obviously. They didn’t need to be. They said there’s a decontamination program going on at the moment.”
“Have they established what the chemical was?” Kate exhales slowly.
“The scientists from the science wing believe that it’s Formaldehyde. Apparently there was a slow leak that was found an hour or so ago, but they believe it started mid-day yesterday.” Rose swallows, her voice trembles slightly as she speaks, obviously worried, “Mum started getting sick when we were in the cantine, making coffee. Then, Mel just...fell out.”
Mel fainted? “Rose, they’re going to be fine.” Kate does her best to reassure the teenager, though she really wasn't so sure herself, “were you assessed by medics?”
“I feel fine.” Rose mutters, more concerned for her mother.
“That’s the problem. Formaldehyde can take up to twelve hours, if not more, to present in victims of poisoning. Pulmonary edema setting in twenty-four to forty-eight hours, some symptoms even taking weeks.” Kate does her best to explain, her science PhD becoming inherently useful in this situation, it seems. You can tell her all the bad things that can happen, but where would that get you right now? “Rose, I need you to take charge of this situation until we arrive. Can you do that for me?”
Did she say take charge? Rose swallows, her back straightening, “what do you need me to do?”
“Regardless if one is being kept at the moment, I need you to create a list of people who were present in the war room for a significant amount of time yesterday and into this morning.” Kate begins, bringing her opposite hand up to the bridge of her nose, pinching it as she speaks, “All of those people are going to need blood and urine tests to accurately determine the amount of formaldehyde in their systems, if any. We may need to quarantine until this is over strictly on an observation basis, but that’s only depending on the results of that test.”
“Yes, Commander, I can do that.” Rose gives a nod as if Kate can see her right at this moment somehow. Maybe through the ravens?
“Other than your mother and Ms. Bush, I need you to be among the first ones tested since you’re doing this for the team. It’s going to become very important later, I assure you.” She closes her eyes as she stands there, “I assume the medics on the scene are ours people and I need you to tell them this exact thing.” Kate moves her hand from the bridge of her nose, resting her hand just behind her as she continues to lean against the counter top in the kitchen. “I need you to tell them Protocol Two-Zero-One-Delta Formaldehyde. It orders them to acquire blood and urine samples of all affected persons on scene and test it for Formaldehyde poisoning. Tell them this is a direct order from me.”
“Yes, Commander.” Rose states again, “will you be on your way soon? You’ll need to be tested as well.”
The only thing Kate didn’t consider.
“Yes, don’t worry.” She doesn’t give a more in-depth answer to the teenager, “be there before you know it.” Kate notices Christofer watching her, his arms folded. She lowers the mobile phone, touching the screen to end the call, “how are you feeling?”
“Probably better than you’re about to feel.” Christofer nears her, noticing her confused expression before he holds his hand out, “may I have my mobile back?”
“Your-” Kate looks down at the mobile in her hand, handing it over to him. Shit. She brings a hand to her head, shielding her eyes in embarrassment. All this time, Kate thought that Christofer would be the one to slip with the way he looks at her while they’re in the war room. Thought he’d slip and call her by her first name instead of his usual Commander.
“Rose can be trusted.” Christofer nods, sliding his mobile into his pocket. “She’s a good kid.” He does his best to reassure his partner. Christofer moves to stand in front of her, tenderly wrapping his defined, muscular arms around her upper body. “You know, the more we seek to hide this and not just...accept and affirm when asked, the more difficult it will get.” He feels her rest her forehead against his chest.
“The day is only just starting and I’m exhausted.” Kate mutters, then leans her head back, looking up at his face. She’s glad when he instinctually leans down to capture her lips. Christofer holds the kiss for a moment before lifting his head up, as if studying her features. Kate clears her throat, “but, we need to go, so you’re going to ride with me."
Chris gives her a cheeky smirk, thinking of all the things he’s wanted to do with her in the back of he car. “Are you sure?” The question is done in jest, earning him a playful scowl from his lover as she steps around him, making her way to the shoes and overcoats. “What about you though, how are you feeling?” Christofer pauses for a moment when it appears she’s trying to decide what she’ll tell him, “I didn’t really...understand what she was saying, just got the feeling that it’s probably serious.”
“It is.” Kate murmurs quietly, “quite serious actually, but at least it isn’t...due to a hostile incursion or external force. We’re just poisoning our own people instead.” Her tone is sarcastic with frustration as she decides on her brown leather loafers from the small shoe shelf near her entry door.
Smirking to himself as he watches her, Christofer obtains her camel colored wool coat and her purse from the tall coat tree near the door, holding the overcoat open for her. Kate rises up on her toes to press a soft peck to his lips before gliding her sweater covered arm through the sleeve. Chris stops her from moving again, pressing another, slightly deeper kiss, meeting her eyes after, “You tell me if you begin not feeling well.” She won’t need to. He’ll already know, probably even before she does.
Kate gives a quick nod, knowing full well that she wouldn’t tell him anything anyway, needing to be present for her team. Instinctively taking the purse hanging from her partner’s shoulder and looping it over hers. She opens the entry door after peering through the spy hole for a moment, seeing the car waiting just in front of her home. Something Kate has grown used to doing after everything she’s been through, and something that Christofer ignores, knowing it makes her feel better.
Chris takes a quick moment to hang his helmet on the wooden coat tree as she tugs the door open, following behind her loyally. Regardless of how stressful it already seems, he’s excited to start the day, especially with her.