Rick looks at the half emptied bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. It was a gift from his ex-wife about 2 years ago when he and Kate got married. Talk about ironic. He lifts the tumbler with the remaining whiskey in the glass to his mouth and swallows the rest down. Then he places the glass on the desk and refills it.

His P.I. firm has had some success of late. He and Alexis had closed a high profile jewelry theft and on top of the fee they charged, they were entitled to a partial recovery fee. Hey, 20% is nothing to sneeze at! Then they were contracted to find a missing boy. The parents were so distraught. They had tried every outlet they could think of and Rick was their last hope. It had taken 3 weeks to find him only after the NYPD/FBI's joint screw up and lack of interest after they ran out of leads. They were able to find clues that involved the fathers ex-partners. They had held his son for cash. They wanted to be paid. When Rick had told the parents, they went to the FBI and told them what Rick had uncovered. The three partners were arrested in an early morning raid on a house in Queens. The boy was returned home safe and sound.

And after yesterday's raid and the case closed, paperwork filed, Alexis had gone back to her apartment. She and Haley have become close in the last couple of months. And for this he is grateful. He does, however, think that she had rushed into her decision to leave NYU to work here at the firm. Sure she is an asset, but an education is important also. Maybe tomorrow he will sit down and talk with her again. Maybe make her see that it's not all rainbows and lollypops.

He gazes at the legal manilla envelope that sits on his desk directly in the center. It has been there since this morning's mail delivery and he knows exactly who it came from. It mocks him. He just has not had the balls to actually open it up and read the contents inside. He flips the envelope over and squeezes the little silver clasp together and slides the letter opener to cut open the 1" clear plastic tape that seals the envelope shut. He removes the paperwork that he hopes is only just a counter proposal on her part. He just stares at the signed papers he holds in his hands. This was what he was afraid of. He was hoping that she would see that he was serious about a trial separation. She did counter his motion alright, she filed for a divorce. He read her wrong. He looks one last time at the signature before returning the paperwork back to the envelope. Yes, it's her handwriting.

So the third one comes to an end he thinks to himself. At least this one had lasted just a little longer than his previous one. He notes the date for his hearing for the dissolution of marriage. It's set for two weeks from today. 9 am at the courthouse. He pencils it in into his day planner and finishes off the last sip of whiskey in his glass. The hearing comes and goes. She never shows. Work most likely he thinks to himself. He and his attorney appear before the judge and since she or her attorney are not present he is granted the divorce. He, of course, sets up an account so that she will be well taken of for the rest of her life. It's the least he can do.

Three years have passed and Kate is still where she was three and a half years ago. Nowhere. Well, that's not totally true. She had lost the man she was in love with for the last ten years. Deciding that he would be safer, she one upped his offer for a trial separation and filed for divorce. She never thought he would actually agree to it. That was the reason she was a no show in court. She thought that if he saw that she did not show up he would change his mind. She was wrong. What she did not know is that when the opposing party fails to show the defendant is awarded the legal decision they were seeking. How did things go from bad to worse? Some day soon she hopes that they can pick up from where they left off. Maybe start fresh again?

But still she is no closer to finding out how Bracken's invisible backer had slipped through her fingers more times than she can count. She had been close too. She almost had him in St. Louis. But the information that Vikram had uncovered soon dried up after she hopped on a flight to St. Louis. She was just spinning her wheels. She had been working with Hunt and Rita, but now they decided that working with her was not such a good idea after all. She thought to herself that maybe it was the way she was following leads that they did not like? Whatever it was they did not like about her, they ended their partnership. She was now on her own.

She has been living in an SRO for the last 4 months. She is close once again and she can feel it. She hopes that this is the one lead that will finally catch this prick. It's been way too long in coming. She looks through the binoculars once again. She sits up straighter in the front seat of the car and she is surprised at what she thinks she sees. She is not too sure about the male but she thinks that the woman could be her friend, well she still would describe her as a friend, she's not so sure that Lanie would still be her friend after the divorce. She watched as they both walked to a non-descriptive mid-sized car. They got in and left. Her eyes reacquired the target and once again she has slumped into the seat watching the front door of the room 23 at the Maple Shade hotel. Hours pass by and she needs intel. So she exits her car and eyes the room she has been watching. It was hours ago but she caught a lingering whiff of a familiar cologne. Forgetting what she had intended to do, the smell brought her back to her ex-husband. How she missed his scent...wait a sec tall man, Lanie, a pay by the hour motel, noooo Rick.

AN: This has been on my hard drive since season 8 episode 2. Not too sure where this will go, if anywhere. Please drop me a review or PM if it should continue. I am not sure when an update will be forthcoming, because I have so many open stories to finish.

P2P