"Miss, either you call the police or I do" the man said and even though I could see how it seemed like a good call from his point of view it sounded like a threat to me.
"No, it's okay, I'll just go there, everything is fine" I said and tried to hide my panic.
How long had my face been on the news? How many had seen my picture and how many had seen me here? I started to walk away from the man but he stopped me.
"I would like to either hear you call or walk with you to the police station, so I know for sure you won't run along" the man said and held out his phone again.
I took it and mumbled a 'fine'. I saw he had already pushed in the numbers I was going to call so I just pushed the green phone.
"Hello?" Rick answered in the phone.
"I'm fine" I breathed into the phone.
"Kate?! Where are you?! Why did you just leave?!" Rick yelled in the phone.
He was obviously angry but I could also hear a certain pain in his voice. I looked at the man standing in front of me, he observed my face.
"Look, take down that picture, as soon as you can. And stop worrying, I'll be alright" I said as casual as I could to not make the man think I would just leave again.
"Kate, I'm not taking down that picture until you're here sitting down beside me, telling me everything you don't think I need to know" Rick said and I moaned in frustration.
In the background I could hear someone asking something and getting closer.
"Yes it is, she wants us to take down the picture, but I told her that's not gonna happen until she's here" Rick told the other person.
"Ok, fine, I'll come. Where are you?" I gave up.
"At the twelfth precinct, you know where you sat behind bars yesterday?" he answered and I sighed.
"I'll be there, the second I come you delete that image, deal?" I said harsh.
"Deal" Rick answered and I hung up.
I gave back the phone to the man and I steered my feet towards the twelfth precinct. I still halted even though I did my best not to. My foot hurt so badly and I couldn't get rid of the pain infiltrating my thoughts. I tried to look down and avoid as much notice as I could. It was probably already too late. Now I was dead. Definitely dead. Hopefully Rick wouldn't get into trouble. I needed to make him take distance somehow. But I didn't know how. He had been interested in me even though I was dirty, even though I didn't have a home.
As I reached the doors to the police precinct I stood there for a few seconds taking deep breaths. Trying to build up the courage to walk inside.
"Excuse me, are you...?" a woman started asking and I glared at her.
Seriously?!
"Yes, I'm Kate Beckett, I'm alright and on my way to the police" I said and the woman quieted.
As she walked away I took one last deep breath before stepping into the precinct.
"Kate! You came, thank god" Rick came running from the elevators and he embraced me into a big hug.
"Take my photo down" I whispered.
I was trying to keep it strictly professional. If that was even possible to call it that way when a homeless was trying not to become emotionally involved. He pulled away and looked down at me, but I kept my vision straight forward. I knew that if I would look him in the eyes I would most definitely fall apart.
"I will. Follow me" he said and he took my hand.
His hand gave mine a squeeze and I made the mistake. The one mistake I had tried to tell myself not to make. His blue eyes filled me with nothing else but hope and, if I wasn't seeing wrong, love. He pulled me with him while walking to the elevator. He took out his phone and made a call while waiting for the elevator.
"Hey, yeah, she's here... yep, take it down immediately... thank you for this, I couldn't have done it without you... yes, see you at next poker game" he hung up and his eyes met my confused face. "The mayor" he said and there was a ding.
I blinked surprised and he dragged me into the elevator. He pushed a button and the doors closed.
"Please, don't leave me like that again. I've been worried all day. Me and Lanie... we searched everywhere, and to be honest we googled your name in case there would be something about why you're hiding" Rick babbled on.
"And what did you find out?" I asked with my hopefully 'straight-no-emotion'-poker face.
I was afraid to hear his answer. I had no idea what Google had to say about me. I had some fears but since it had been a few years ago since I even had the possibility to know I couldn't be sure of anything. At first Rick didn't say anything and when I looked at him he looked embarrassed and sadness could be spotted in his eyes.
"It's okay, you can tell me" I said in a low voice.
"I'm sorry about your mom" he barely breathed out.
My heart skipped a beat and pain was spread across it. He knew about my mom. But then again, wouldn't that be something that was inevitable. The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
"Kate! Thank god! Are you alright? Don't tell me you've been stepping too much on that foot or I promise I will smack you" the woman who I'd met at Rick's loft came towards me.
She looked both glad and angry. She was quite scary. I took a step behind Rick, as in protecting myself from her anger with his big body between us.
"Lanie, take it easy, at least she's back. Oh, and I almost forgot about your foot, you shouldn't walk" Rick said and turned to me.
"And how else would you prefer I would come wherever you're taking me?" I questioned and to my big surprise he swooped with his arms and without any warning I was in his embrace, with feet dangling in the thin air.
He started walking, carrying me bridal style and all I could see were the faces looking at me in his arms.
"Put me down, I can walk on my own" I breathed and tried to bend myself out of his embrace.
The woman, Lanie, walked beside us and she sent me a stare. I stopped fighting and decided to hide my face in his chest instead. Once Rick stopped walking I looked around to find myself in a room, there was a couch and some big chairs. There was also a coffee machine. Rick gently put me down in the couch before placing himself beside me.
"I'll go get Javi and Kevin" Lanie said and walked out of the room.
I looked over at Rick with a questioning face. He met my eyes with a worried glimpse hanging in the corner of his eyes. He avoided my unspoken question and we sat in silence.
"Yo! You found her?" a familiar voice called and the military-looking guy came into sight.
I widened my eyes. What was this? Were they trying to get me to talk? That was not going to happen. The other guy, what was his name again? I couldn't remember. Probably because I thought I was never going to see them again. Lanie got in from behind them and she closed the door.
"Now, no one can hear you, only us. We need you to tell us who's after you. We need to know why you're in hiding" Lanie said and my whole body stiffened.
Lanie and the cops sat down in the chairs and looked at me. I looked over at Rick and he looked at me with the same concern and curiosity. I pulled up my knees to my body and hid my face in them. I shook my head and I heard a sigh from Lanie. I felt someone's hand land on my back and I flinched before I understood it was only Rick. He stroke circles on my back smoothly, trying to calm me down. I felt him leaning in beside my head, his nose almost in my hair.
"You have to tell us, we want to protect you" Rick whispered in my ear.
"I don't need protection" I mumbled.
"Then why are you hiding?" the military-looking guy asked.
I looked up and saw concern in all the pairs of eyes looking at me. I did not like this. Not at all. Rick took my hand in his and intertwined our fingers. I looked up at him and his eyes were calm, trying to calm me down.
"No" I strictly said.
"Honey" Lanie said and my eyes were drawn to her. "If you don't tell us there's nothing we can do" she continued and I nodded.
"Exactly. If I don't say anything you can still live. If I don't say anything there is absolutely nothing you have to worry about. If I don't say anything I won't have your deaths on my conscious. I don't need protection and I most certainly don't want it. I've been on my own for 5 years and I've been fine! Can't you just respect that? There's nothing you can do either way so why, just why, would you wanna throw your lives away because of me?" I bursted out in frustration.
"You've been alone for 5 years?! And no one has ever tried to talk to you?!" Rick exclaimed with shock.
"Some did, in the beginning, when I wasn't so 'homeless'-alike but I just pushed them away. Just like now I didn't want or needed their help" I said with a shrug.
"Miss Beckett, listen to me" the military-guy said. "We will help you, whether you like it or not, so the best thing you can do is tell us what we're helping you from" his voice seemed so serious and truthful.
"None of you even know me, all you know is my name. You don't know who I am, and I don't know you. Plus if you don't have anything to hold me here for I have enough knowledge to know that you can't hold me here" I said and tried my hardest not to show any emotions at all.
"I know you. You know me" Rick jumped in.
I looked at him with frustration. Why couldn't he just see I didn't do this for me? I did it for everyone!
"Stop! Can't you just let me go?! Bracken will send someone to get me the second he knows I'm here and I really don't want to stay here to see how it ends!" I yelled and quickly covered my mouth when I realized I had said too much.