Finding Kate

Chapter Twenty Seven: Fearless

Well you stood there with me in the doorway,

My hands shake, I'm not usally this way,

But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave.

It's the first kiss, it's flawless, it's really something.

It's fearless.

Taylor Swift - Fearless

The sun was dazzling off the hot concrete as the two men strode side by side through the Bal Harbour district. Bal Harbour was famous for being the fashion district of Miami and was home to many designer shops as well as an extensive range of boutiques.

Tim Speedle took his sun glasses of the front of his pinstriped button down shirt and placed them on his handsome features to shield his eyes from the sun. It was early in the morning and the day was already shaping up to be one of the hottest this summer. His sleeves were already rolled up to his elbows, and his jeans clinging to him as he slowed to a halt along side a glass window displaying large quantities of jewellery.

Mike Bernstein stopped beside him, his eyes flickering over each of he rings the window sported. He was clad in khaki coloured trousers and a black polo neck t-shirt. His Ray Ban sunglasses had been in place since they'd met in the parking lot further up the boulevard.

"This the place?" Speed asked, hands jammed into his pockets.

He'd been looking downcast all day, his gruff demeanour hiding something deeper. Bernstein had known him long enough to understand that there was something bothering him.

It had been over a month since the uproar had exploded over the suspension of John Hagen, and in a month a lot had changed for the two men. Both Bernstein and Speedle had been on the receiving end of some harsh comments for backing Kate's accusations. The guys who worked closely with Hagen depicted a picture of a man who was being victimized again, due to the accusations made by IAB four years ago regarding the death of Raymond Caine. Hagen was an easy target they stated.

An uneasy friction had been created between the Crime Lab and the PD. Crime scenes were awkward places where the two departments were forced to mix. Miami Dade had once been prided due to the ability of both departments being able to work as one unit. Now the divide was bigger than ever. It wasn't simply Crime Lab versus PD anymore. It was a lot more than that. There were people in the Crime lab that would refuse to associate with Horatio's team now. There were also people in the PD who refused to believe Hagen's innocence.

Bernstein had even heard of an appeal being set up to contest IAB's decision to suspend John Hagen and reinstate him back in the Homicide department. He doubted that would go very far considering that in two months time John Hagen was to resume duty as if nothing had happened.

The rape charge had been thrown out due to insufficient evidence, and there was no way Kate could prove that he'd been harassing her. It was only through Horatio's constant pushing that they'd managed to suspend John Hagen for as long as they were.

Kate had offered to leave when everything had erupted; she'd been offered a job teaching UC techniques in the Miami Dade academy. Her and Speedle had talked it out, with Horatio, and although it was as safe as you could get, they had decided against it. Forensics was where both their hearts lay and the job at the Seattle field office the FBI offered was out of the question.

So the two of them were taking the hits on the chin. And kudos to them they were resilient, Kate ignored the gossip and the comments. Speed however, responded with biting remarks and he defended Kate bitterly. She didn't deserve what happened to her and she definitely did not deserve the reputation that Hagen's buddies were giving her.