Kat stretched as she pulled the covers off her legs, wiggling her toes to try and get the numbness out of them. She swung her legs over the side and glanced back at Kasey who was slightly snoring. Standing up she quietly walked out of the room, trying her best not to wake Kasey.Walking down the hall she sat down on the couch and picked up the phone, waiting as it rang numerous times before a male voice finally answered. She ordered a newspaper and a large pot of coffee, knowing Kasey would want some when he woke up. Kat hung up the phone and stood up, walking towards the large window. She pulled back the curtains and looked out at the snowy morning. She watched as all of the people scurried down the streets, their bodies covered in thick jackets, scarves and whatever else they could find to keep themselves warm.
She heard a soft knock on the door and went quickly to it. Opening it she saw a delivery boy pushing a cart with coffee, creamer, milk and a newspaper. "Ya'll work fast" she smiled, handing the man some money from her purse. She closed the door behind him and began making herself a cup of coffee. She grabbed the paper and made her way back towards the couch, sitting with her feet underneath her. She savored the first few sips of her coffee before she opened up the paper, immediately heading for the sports page to see if there was any sort of coverage of the banquet. She saw the huge picture on the front and her mouth fell open. She couldn't speak, the words blurred together as the tears quickly accumulated. She found her voice as his name bellowed out, echoing through the halls. He jumped out of bed, and ran as quickly as he could down the hall not knowing what was going on. When he reached the sitting room, he saw her. Kat was sitting on the couch, a newspaper grasped tightly in her hands. Kasey quickly made his way over to her and knelt down in front of her. "Baby what is it?" his voice still scratchy. She didn't answer, just stared blankly as she handed Kasey the paper. His eyes widened as he read the headlines. 'Kahne dates former witness, but isn't she dead?' his eyes scanned the article, reading but not absorbing. He looked at the two pictures on the inset. One was from the night before, the other was a picture of Kat walking out of the courthouse a lawyer attached to her hip.
Kasey set down the paper and looked up at Kat, her shoulders were shaking and tears were flowing freely down her face. Kasey wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "Baby, it's ok I swear" he whispered softly, his face buried into her hair. She didn't answer, just kept crying. He ran his hand up and down her back soothing her as much as he possibly could. The two sat on the couch for what seemed like an eternity, not speaking. Kat finally broke the silence "Kase, what am I going to do?" she looked up at him. He could see all of her fears in her eyes, she looked almost helpless. "I swear I wont let anything happen to you, I promise" he ran his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear. "But, how can you be so sure Kase? I mean shit, im going to have to leave again. Im going to have to leave my job and my friends and yo..." Kasey cut her off "don't say that, I am not losing you again". Kat shook her head and sighed "Kasey you don't have a choice, if I don't run again then I might not be alive. Then you will really never see me again." She started to cry again, Kasey put his arms around her. "You aren't leaving me. I will do anything to keep you here, even if I have to move you to North Carolina so you can be near me and keep an eye on you 24/7 I am NOT losing you again" he pulled her eyes up to meet his. Kasey saw the doubt in her eyes "I promise I wont let anything happen to you" he said softly as he kissed her on the cheek. Kasey sat there with her for a few more minutes until he could tell her fears had subsided. "I need to go have a little chat with my brother" Kasey said as he stood up. Kat cocked her eyebrow at him, silently questioning him. "Kale was the only other person who knew about you situation" he walked towards the room in search of his clothes.
******
Kale stumbled out of bed, jumping when he heard a soft groan coming from the other side of the bed. He didn't remember the night before and was almost afraid to turn around and see who was in the bed next to him. He looked over his shoulder and saw who he had dreaded, Leah. She was curled up with a pillow, sound asleep. Kale groaned and scanned the floor for his pants. He found them and slid them on, walking quietly so he wouldn't wake her. The last thing he needed was to hear her nagging about Kasey with the major hangover he was having. He safely made it out into the sitting room when Kasey came in the door, screaming his name before he realized Kale was 2 feet away from him. "DUDE! Come on, major headache here!" Kale said, trying to shut up his brother. Kasey just looked at Kale, he looked like shit. "Anyway, you don't know anything about this do you?" Kasey asked, handing him the newspaper. Kale looked it over and Kasey saw his eyes turn to worry. "No dude, is she ok?" he asked, handing it back to him. "Yeah for now, she is scared shitless though" Kasey replied. Kale sat back on the couch and rubbed his forehead "I didn't say a damn thing. God who would do something like that?" Kale asked, referring to the mention of the 'anonomus tipster' it referred to in the article. "I don't know but I swear to god...." Kasey trailed off, Kale could see the tension in his face.
Kasey heard the floor creek behind him and turned, wincing when he saw the sight before him. He turned back around and looked at Kale "Man, be careful" was all he said before he walked out the door. "What's up his ass this morning?" Leah asked, pulling the shirt lower down over her hips. Kale just shook his head. "Seriously Kale, I heard yall talking about something. You going to tell me what it was?" she asked, tracing a finger across his collar bone. Kale shrugged away from her, handing her the newspaper that had now passed through so many hands it was becoming worn. Leah looked at it and bit back the smile that she so badly wanted to let show. She knew she had done something that she was sure would take Kasey away from Kat, making him definatley come seeking comfort in her arms.
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