Chapter 155 - Saturday Night

They were both hungry by the time they pulled into Mandy’s drive.

After leaving the Center Jon had followed Cate back to her house and left his rental SUV parked in her driveway. They took a few minutes to unload the boxes from the SUV’s cargo bay into the garage, then Cate tossed the Mustang’s keys to Jon. She gave him directions from the passenger seat as he guided the car expertly along the winding road to Mandy’s little bungalow.

After climbing out of the car Jon and Cate strolled hand-in-hand to the front door. Not bothering to ring the bell, Cate pulled open the screen door. “Hey Mandy!” she called. “We’re here!”

“On the patio!” Mandy’s voice rang out through the house. With a smile Cate led Jon through the cozy living room and kitchen, then out the back door onto Mandy’s spacious brick patio. Almost immediately she was nearly bowled over by a huge mass of barking black, white, and tan fur.

“Hey Jovi!” Cate exclaimed in greeting to her big collie. “How’s my girl? How’s my Good Girrrrrl?” Jon grinned as Cate used the silly, growly voice most people use when playing with a friendly dog. He watched as she crouched and wrapped her arms around the wiggling, panting canine. Jon could have sworn he saw the dog smile as she basked in her Master’s attention, her giant brush of a tail swinging furiously from side to side.

“So this is the dog that eats out of my cereal bowl, huh?” Jon teased, leaning down to run a hand over the collie’s sleek head. “She’s a beauty.” He chuckled. “Not blonde, though. She looks more like Richie.”

“She sounds like him too,” Cate grinned back at him. “She likes the talkbox. She howls along.”

Jon laughed. “I’m sure Richie will love to hear tha… Whoa! Hey there!” Jon’s voice raised almost an octave as he jumped at the feel of an inquisitive snout poking at his crotch. Looking down, he realized there was a sleek black Labrador retriever practically sitting on his feet.

Cate giggled at Jon’s surprised exclamation. “That’s Mattie, Mandy’s dog.”

“Hey there, Mattie,” Jon reached down to scratch the dog behind her ear. You’re a sneaky one.”

“She doesn’t bark much,” Cate commented. “Unlike the Fuzzy One here.” She again ruffled Jovi’s fur, scratching the big dog's sides with her fingertips. The collie let out a contented little groan as Cate stroked her fur.

Jon chuckled and looked up, his gaze traveling around Mandy’s big fenced yard. He saw that they weren’t alone; Mandy was preparing the grill and Danny was watching from his seat at the other end of the patio. He gave Danny a little wave then looked back to Cate as she continued to pet and talk to her dog.

“Slick!” Cate grinned and looked up from Jovi at Danny’s customary greeting. Danny was lounging on a cushioned chaise, a half-empty bottle of beer in his hand and a silly grin on his face. “ ‘Bout damned time!”

“Some of us had work to do,” Cate fake-grumbled back at Danny. “We don’t have time to just lay around all day and drink beer.” Giving Jovi a final pat, she straightened and strolled toward her friend. Jovi and Mattie followed her for a few steps, then took off across the yard in pursuit of a low-flying bird.

“I did stuff today,” Danny countered indignantly. He gave her a little grin and a wink. “Twice, in fact.”

Cate rolled her eyes even as she chuckled. “Blonde or brunette?”

“Never mind,” Danny sniffed. “I don’t kiss and tell.” He grinned at Cate’s sarcastic snort as she sat on the edge of the empty lounger next to his and reached for his beer bottle.

“Since when?!?!” Mandy challenged from her post at the grill.

“Since now.” Danny watched Cate take a sip of his beer, then took the bottle when she handed it back to him. He took a long swallow, finishing the beer and closing the subject.

Jon chuckled at the easy exchange between the friends, then wandered over to Mandy. “For the Hostess,” he grinned, holding out the bottle of wine he and Cate had picked up on the way over.

Wiping her hands on the towel slung over her shoulder, Mandy smiled and accepted bottle. “Aww, thanks,” she replied. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, couldn’t have you telling people about the time you had a rock star over to dinner and he was so rude he couldn’t even bring a bottle of wine,” Jon teased. “My Momma did raise me to have some manners.”

Mandy chuckled. “No worries, Jon. I wouldn’t have snitched on ya. I’ll go open this and grab some glasses.”

“I can do it,” Jon volunteered. He gave her a conspiratorial little smile as he dropped his voice. “I need your advice on something. I want to take Cate someplace romantic tonight, someplace private. Can you help me out?”

Mandy arched an eyebrow at Jon’s plea, then smirked and tipped her head toward the house. “Follow me.” She turned to address Cate and Danny. “Hey, we’re going in to open the wine. The grill’s lit; it should be ready in a few minutes, ‘kay Danny?”

“Roger That,” Danny replied in tactical cop-speak. “Hey, bring me another beer, wouldya?”

“Yes, your Highness,” Mandy answered with a little grin and a sarcastic tone. “Don’t get used to me waiting on you. I’m only being nice ‘cause we have guests.” Mandy heard his snort in response as she turned to lead Jon into the kitchen.

Cate smiled as she watched Jon retreat into the house with Mandy, then she settled back against the chaise’s thick cushion with a little sigh. She let herself really relax for the first time in this long, busy day. Feeling his eyes on her, Cate turned to look at Danny.

“So, you get everything done?” Danny asked calmly.

Cate nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I guess if I forgot anything I’ll just have to take care of it when I come back in a few weeks.” She gave him a little smirk. “Or I’ll just let you deal with it.”

Danny chuckled in response. “Bail you out yet again, you mean?” he teased gently. He regarded his friend for a moment, seeing the hint of melancholy in her eyes. “How’d it go, Slick?” asked quietly, knowing she understood his meaning.

Cate sighed again, then fluttered her lashes slightly as she dropped her gaze to her hands in her lap. “It went, I guess. It wasn’t easy.” She paused for a moment, reflecting on the past few hours she had spent packing up her office. “I got most of my stuff out so Joe won’t have to work around it, but….” She trailed off with a little shake of her head.

“But?” Danny prodded gently, not letting her off the hook.

Cate let out another little sigh. “I about took Jon’s head off. I came back from clearing out my locker and he was taking down my wall.”

“And?” Danny’s voice remained even and soft. He knew she needed to verbalize what she was feeling so she could move on. Decades of sharing secrets and fears and dreams and nightmares had made Danny a better therapist for Cate than any licensed psychiatrist could ever be.

“And….” Cate thought for a moment. Good question. Why the Hell did that bother me so much? She pulled in a deep breath. “And, I guess I just feel like I’m being forced out of my job, off the team,” she admitted. “Even though I logically know that’s not true. I just got promoted, that’s all. I can’t stay where I am and accept the promotion. I’m moving up, moving to another slot in another branch. People do it all the damned time. But…”

“But why did it bother you that Jon was taking down your pictures?” Danny wouldn't let her ignore his real question. “Was it the fact that HE was taking them down, or that they were coming down at all?”

Cate chewed her bottom lip for a minute as she thought about his query. “A little of both, I guess…” she confessed. She turned her gaze back to meet Danny’s. “When I yelled at him I actually told him that he doesn’t get to make all the decisions.” Her eyes moistened at the memory of his reaction. “That it’s my career.”

“And what did he say?” Danny had an idea of how Jon must have responded.

“He was hurt, then he got pissed. But then he backed off. He didn’t say a word, just stood there.” Cate’s soft voice reflected her wonderment at Jon’s gentle response to her rebuke. “He was so… so sweet.”

“You kissed and made up?” Danny couldn’t resist the cliché, though he was mildly surprised that Jon had reacted so calmly. Maybe they're finally figuring each other out, he mused.

Cate nodded. “Yeah. So to speak.” She sighed again and looked toward the door where Jon had disappeared with Mandy into the house. “Danny, I don’t know what to do. Not about Jon…” she added hastily, with a little smile. “Not about going with him. That part just feels…. right.”

Danny waited silently as Cate thought for another moment. Now they were getting down to the real issue, the one he knew was lurking under the surface. Cate was finally thinking about her relationship with Jon in terms of the future. “About your promotion,” he observed quietly.

“Yeah.” Cate drew in a deep breath and shifted in her seat, turning to face her friend. “You know I never wanted this. I mean, the money and the recognition are nice, but I never wanted to be a Branch Chief. Hell, when we were in the field I never even wanted to be Special Agent In Charge.”

Danny nodded his concurrence. He and Cate were on the same page there. They were both “doers,” the kind of agents who wanted to work: run the cases, chase the bad guys, teach the trainees. They had no desire to be managers or paper-pushers. “But you know what will likely happen if you turn it down,” he replied.

“Yeah. I probably won’t ever get another chance,” Cate answered, her voice taking on a bitter edge. “Basically career suicide.” She shook her head. “I know I’m preaching to the choir here…. But that’s such SHIT. I would still bust my ass every day and work just as hard as I have up to this point, but because I didn’t take the job they wanted me to take when they wanted me to take it I’d be seen as the One who Bucked the System.” Her heavy emphasis on the word "they" betrayed her disgust with the politics of her profession.

Danny snorted his agreement. “You got it, Slick,” he replied. He gave Cate a long look. “You know you don’t have to decide right now. It just happened yesterday. But you do need to make up your mind pretty damned soon. You need to talk to Floyd and the Director if you decide not to accept. They’re gonna be looking for somebody to fill your position at FTB. You don’t want to be out of two jobs.”

“I know,” Cate sighed. “Part of me is excited about the challenge of opening up the new Branch. Not to brag, but I know I’d be damned good at it. Hell, who knows Counterterrorism better than us, right?” She gave Danny a bittersweet little smile.

“No doubt,” Danny chuckled. “We’ve certainly been in The Shit.” His voice softened. “And for what it’s worth, Slick, the Director is right. There’s nobody else who would do that job as well as you. You’re perfect for it.”

Again Cate felt tears forming at her friend’s heartfelt compliment. “Thanks, Danny,” she whispered. She blinked back her tears and smiled at him for a moment before continuing. “But you know what a huge job that’s gonna be. It would be all-consuming. Long days, lots of travel, briefing the Secretary, testifying before Congress. It would be my entire life for the next couple years.”

Danny nodded silently, watching her, waiting to hear what he expected her to say.

“But if I turn it down and stay with FTB as an instructor… well, things would be like they were before all this started. Before Jon came here, and….” She paused for a moment. “Well, not exactly the same,” she admitted.

“No, not even close,” Danny agreed. “You’d still have a lot to figure out. But you’d have more flexibility to do it.”

They sat in silence for another long moment while Cate weighed her choices in her mind. Finally she spoke.

“I don’t think I could bear to lose him because of my career.” Cate’s voice was quiet and even, her statement matter-of-fact.

For the first time Danny’s expression betrayed his surprise. His eyes widened and a little breath escaped his lips as his jaw dropped. She doesn’t want to sacrifice her relationship with Jon because of her job… not the other way around. Damn.

Cate realized what she had just said as she watched Danny’s reaction. Her own expression changed to mirror his, shocked at her own admission. The friends stared at each other for another moment, then a slow smile crept to Cate’s lips. She dropped her gaze to the ground as she felt Danny smile back at her.

“I think you’ve already made your decision,” Danny observed quietly. “Now you just have to act on it.”

Cate raised her eyes back to her best friend’s handsome face. Sometimes you know me better than I know myself, she mused to herself. She nodded slowly, realizing the truth in his words.