[MD1, Josh’s apartment, 3:15AM]

The case file lay on the coffee table. Sitting on the couch, wrapped up in Josh’s robe, Kate had given up trying to read through it. After reading a few sentences or looking at a photo of one of the victims for a few moments, she would lose her train of thought and some unwelcome memory would creep in. One memory in particular haunted her.

Damn, she thought she had gotten past all of that, that if she hadn’t quite forgiven Paul, then at least she’d put most of the anger aside. But then, that’s easy when the object of the anger is little more than a vague memory. It’s something quite different when facing the prospect of seeing him every day - of being more or less under his authority.

Unconsciously, Kate slammed her fist into a sofa cushion hard enough to jar her wrist, and she let out a little cry of pain. The worst thing about it was that she knew she had to do this. Even if it weren’t for all those victims. She had to do it to prove a point to herself, to prove that she could stand up to him. No matter what he’d said or done, she had never once had the strength or the courage to defend herself against him. Of course, that was a long time ago and she’d changed a lot in those years. The people who knew her now probably wouldn’t even recognize the person she had been then. And she was less than thrilled at the prospect of them seeing even a glimpse of that person.

"Kate? You all right?" Awakened when she’d cried out, Josh had appeared in the doorway and was watching with concern as she rubbed her aching wrist. He crossed the room and sat down beside her.

"Fine," Kate replied a bit curtly.

"What happened?" Josh took her hand and started to gently massage her wrist, but Kate pulled her hand away.

"Nothing. Sorry I woke you." Kate reached for the file, closed it and was about to stand up, but Josh put one hand on her knee and the other around her shoulders, pulling her close. She knew that he was only trying to be helpful and sympathetic, but unfortunately, help and sympathy were the last things she wanted at the moment. All she really wanted was to be left alone.

"Don’t worry about it. You need to talk."

Kate’s eyes widened. On some level, she knew what he meant, but he’d said it in just the wrong way. Kate abruptly pushed him away with slightly more force than necessary. "Do I really?," she asked bitterly, getting up from the sofa. She started toward the hallway.

"I didn’t mean.."

"I don’t give a damn what you meant!" Kate stopped in the doorway and turned, glaring at him. "And don’t you ever presume to think you know what I need."

Josh stood up, took a step toward her, then thought better of it and stopped. "I’m sorry, Kate. Why don’t we just.."

"Why don’t you just leave me the hell alone?!" She went into the bedroom and slammed the door.

She came out a few minutes later, dressed and only slightly calmer. Josh was still standing in the middle of the living room. Kate picked up the file and looked at him.

"I’m going home," she announced.

Josh wasn’t going to respond, having decided that it was probably best to remain silent and let the storm blow over. But Kate just stood there, waiting for him to say something. "If that’s what you want," Josh ventured finally.

Kate stared at him for a long moment, both hoping that he would add something to that response and dreading what she might not be able to stop herself from saying if he did. Finally, she picked up the file and her purse and walked out.

*****

[DELTA office, 9:00AM]

Kate hadn’t slept a wink all night, and sitting at her desk with the case files in front of her, it was taking an act of pure will - along with several cups of coffee - just to keep her eyes open. How she was going to manage to be civil when Paul arrived for the mission briefing, she had no clue, but she had to do it.

Flynn poured himself a cup of coffee, then brought the coffee pot over to Kate’s desk and refilled her cup. "Rough night," he asked.

"That obvious, huh," Kate said with a sigh. "Thanks."

Flynn nodded. "New case," he asked, seeing the files on the desk.

Kate was about to answer when Paul walked into the office. She nodded in response to Flynn’s question and stood up. Paul walked up to her and made a small but dramatic bow.

"We meet again," he said.

"To my great misfortune," Kate muttered. "Let’s get this over with."

Paul laughed, which only made Kate angrier, and turned away from her to the rest of the office. "Ah! Agent Prescott," he said with great enthusiasm, "no more problems with that Sheriff Kastenbach I hope."

"No, sir. Everything’s been cleared up."

"Excellent!" He turned to Kate. "You know, Katie, you really should keep a closer check on your people. Incidents like that don’t reflect well," he said quietly and with a grin, then added, slightly louder, "Aren’t you going to introduce me to the rest of your team?"

Kate took a deep breath before speaking. "Everyone, this is Agent Paul Moran. He has requested our assistance on a case in the Miami area." She passed copies of the case file around to everyone. "There have been fifteen reported rapes in the area over the last year that have been linked by the absence of sperm in the ejaculate. However, one of the victims that we know of has recently given birth to a child she claims was a product of that rape. Several others are pregnant. Take a few minutes and look over the files. If you have any questions, we’ll do our best to answer them."


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