a/n: Okay, here it is. The last chapter. This was so much fun! Thank you for following my craziness : )

A Little Strategy, A Lot of Foreplay, And Absolutely No Negotiation

Chapter Eighteen

"Your mediation is ready, my dear." Leo reached over Kate's desk, handing her a file and a coffee mug.

"Wonderful, Leo. Thank you." She opened the file, eyes quickly scanning its information.

"You look a little puttered out today," he observed. She nodded.

"I haven't been sleeping well."

"Well, you've only had the new bed for what? A week? Sometimes it takes a bit to get used it." Kate looked at him with saddened eyes. "You're not sleeping in the bed." She shook her head. "So you've spent the week sleeping on the floor again?"

"Yeah." They moved out of her office; Leo stopping in front of his desk.

"Holler if you need anything," he called after her.

"I will," she smiled softly. As she walked away, he turned his attention to Ben's office. Ben's eyes followed Kate as she walked past the office's second set of doors. When she was out of view, Ben sighed and his shoulders slumped. Leo stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Matchmaker, matchmaker, find me a find," he sang quietly to himself. He turned on his heel and entered Ben's office. "Okay," he started, taking a seat. "I get why Kate hasn't been all that chatty with Lauren or Justin. But, what I don't get is why she isn't speaking to you."

"What makes you think that?"

"The longing in your eyes when she walks by," he deadpanned. "There's been no candy throwing, no door slamming. No arguing in front of my desk."

"I've been busy, Leo. So has Kate. I apologize, but we just haven't had time to argue in front of your desk." Leo sat back in the chair and folded his fingers.

"Mm-hmm. Kate's bed was delivered last Friday. So I know she isn't staying at your place anymore. And then there's the fact that it is Thursday and Kate has been late to work every day this week, while you have been on time."

"When did Kate's tardiness become a surprise to you?" Leo ignored the comment and continued.

"Which means that she's not speaking to you or she'd be arriving with you." Ben remained quiet for a moment.

"Kate's bed was delivered?"

"You didn't know?" Leo asked with mocked surprise. "See? Not speaking to you." He narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Then what did you say?" Ben dropped his pen on the desk and sat back in his chair, avoiding Leo's stare.

"I may have…told her…" Leo leaned closer to the desk as Ben mumbled the end of his sentence.

"I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I told her…I told her that I love her," he answered with a soft sigh.

"Did you mean it?"

"Of course I meant it."

"I knew it," Leo laughed excitedly. "It's time now, Benedict, for you to paddle your way to shore." He floated his hand through the air.

"What the hell does that even mean?"

"I don't know. I was having fun with the metaphor."

"It's not a metaphor, Leo. It's a life."

"Learn quickly you do, my young padawan," he nodded. "It is indeed a life. A life that is in need of guidance and reassurance. Show her that you're still here, Ben; that you're not going anywhere."

bate

"Chinese?" Ben asked, eyes wandering over the red and white boxes Leo was setting on the conference room table. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Courtesy of Lauren," he answered. "She wanted to celebrate Archer's takedown."

"Nice." Ben moved to the other side of the table, pulling an opened bottle of champagne from a bucket of ice. "Have you seen Kate?" he asked as he filled the glasses.

"Kate went home," Leo answered slowly. He folded the empty carry out bag, smoothing it on the table. "She's had a long week. Those mediations you gave her were rough."

"Yeah. I didn't think they would be so crazy." Ben moved to the window, staring out into the near dusky sky, bathed in the soft glow of the city lights.

"Don't worry about it. Kate's tough; she can handle it." Leo took a seat, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair. "Dude, are you going to do something?"

"What do you mean?" Ben turned to face him.

"About Kate."

"What about Kate?" Lauren inquired as she entered the conference room.

"She totally kicked ass on her mediation today," Ben answered quickly, sitting and shooting Leo a stern look.

"Yes, she did," Lauren smiled. "I haven't had a chance to get the whole story from her, but the nice somber looks on the clients' faces…" She nodded. "I wish I could have been a fly on the wall. Where is Kate, anyway?" she asked as she sat.

"Kate went home." Leo pointed to his temple. "Migraine."

"Oh. Okay." Though she tried to hold the appearance of believing the excuse, her smile dropped some. "Okay, well…" She raised her glass of champagne. "To Aaron Davidson and Robin Archer."

"May the flames reach their eyebrows," Ben finished.

"You know, there's still one thing I don't understand." She set her glass on the table. "The Friday that the flash drive disappeared, you and Kate were out of the office. I know you didn't come back, so…" She leaned her elbows on the table and smiled. "How did you manage to get the flash drive out of Kate's office?"

"Well," Ben said, clearing his throat. "It certainly pays to have a good wingman." He looked across the table. "Doesn't it, Leo?"

"Word," he said, smiling with a proud innocence.

"Leo," she scolded. "I should have known. Well, uh, eat up," she smiled.

bate

Ben pushed the last green grape around the bowl, absently chasing the fruit with the tip of his finger. A small, nicely folded pile of dark red sheets sat on the table in front of him, patiently waiting for him to make his move. "Dude, are you going to do something?" Ben smirked and shook his head.

"Yeah, I am," he said to himself. He gathered the sheets and left his apartment. It was late, just after ten-thirty, and as he neared Kate's apartment he wondered if she was still awake. He stopped at the door, listening carefully as he heard the faint melodies from her record player. Taking a deep breath, he knocked softly. The smell of cleaning solution was strong as she opened the door. He was curious if she had been sleeping at all the past few nights, or cleaning until the wee hours of the morning.

"Hey," he said gently.

"Hi."

"You missed some wonderful Chinese food." She leaned into the door and offered an apologetic smile. "I, uh…here." He handed her the sheets. "Leo told me that your bed was delivered. And, since we didn't have a chance to buy you some sheets…" His voice trailed off and he looked at the floor.

"Oh. Uh, thank you." He nodded, briefly meeting her eyes with a short smile.

"Good night, Kate."

"Good night," she repeated weakly. Kate quietly closed the door and frowned, clutching the sheets tightly to her chest. "No 'Katie'," she whispered sadly. The walk to her bedroom was slow as she let the soft scent of fabric softener and cologne mix with the air around her. It quickly became too much, pushing her already over-worked thoughts, and as she neared the darkened doorway of her room, she angrily threw the sheets at the bed. As they slid off the corner of the mattress, a clattering across the floor halted Kate's hasty retreat to the living room. She turned on the light and dropped to her knees, hands pulling apart the sheets and feeling along the cold hardwood surface of the floor for the source of the noise. Her eyes found the object hiding just inside the shadow of the bed frame. "No," she whispered. "How…" Her fingers gingerly folded over its heart-shaped form and she sat back to rest on a hip.

"This you can't control and it scares the hell out of you. You want that wave."

Kate pushed to her feet, gathering the now disheveled sheets in her arms. She moved quickly through the apartment, throwing open the front door with enough force for the doorknob to hit the wall. Pulling at the tail of sheets behind her, she stalked through the hallway. When she reached Ben's door, she pounded it with a fist until he opened it.

"Kate? Wh-"

"I don't want your sheets." He fell back a step as she shoved the sheets into his arms and pushed past him.

"O-okay." He closed the door.

"And I don't want to sleep in that bed."

"You need to, Kate. You're going to kill your back sleeping on the floor."

"Why did you say it?"

"Because sleeping on the floor is not good for a person's back," he responded, tilting his head slightly.

"Not that. The other thing."

"What…other thing?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

"Why did you say that you love me?" His features softened and he dumped the sheets on the couch.

"Because I do," he answered. "I didn't know if I would have another opportunity to tell you. I had to make sure you knew."

"You haven't spoken to me all week."

"I was trying to give you a little space," he explained. "I realize we didn't exactly do the 'going slowly' thing and I figured…along with everything else that you would need some time to process what happened. Which you did, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I-I did," she nodded slowly.

"Well, there you go." She took a deep breath, walking to the far side of the couch.

"I don't want to sleep on the floor," she said, turning back to him. He shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You don't want to sleep in the bed; you don't want to sleep on the floor. Where are you going to sleep?" He raised his eyebrows as the understanding took hold. "Oh. Are you-are you sure?"

"It's so much easier to run. It's so much easier to pretend the decision doesn't have to be made." Kate walked back to Ben, taking his hand and placing the heart-shaped rock on his palm. "You were right. I can't control this and it does scare the hell out of me. But I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't want to run." She kept her eyes on his hand as she closed his fingers over the rock. "I want to stay with you. If-if that's all right." Ben smiled softly, tickled by the touch of embarrassment in her voice. He lifted his free hand, hooking a finger under her chin.

"Of course it is," he said, lifting her brown eyes to his.

"Ben?"

"Hmm?" He waited for her to continue but she kept silent. With a deep breath, she placed her hands over his shoulders and stood on her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Ben," she whispered as she pulled back. "I love you."

bate

one month later

"I cannot believe you forgot your phone," Ben scolded playfully as the elevator ascended. "That thing is attached to your hip, Katie."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," she laughed.

"Yet you made it all the way through dinner without it." He raised his eyebrows. "I'm impressed." The elevator doors opened to a darkened Reed and Reed.

"I'll be quick. I promise." She pressed her body against his and offered a saucy smile. "Then we can go home."

"Well, who am I to argue with that?" As Ben leaned in to kiss her, Kate pulled away with a giggle. She skipped ahead of him, opening the glass door. "What are you doing?" he asked as she turned quickly, closing the door between them. She laughed again and lifted a hand above her head, pressing her fingertip to the glass. He followed her finger as she trailed a weaving path down the center of the door. Her finger touched the beginning of the gold words scribed through the center, tracing across the middle of the lettering. Ben smiled. "Reed, Reed and Grogan," he read. "Very nice." Kate laughed and bounced on her heels.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"I love it." She leaned into the door, placing a soft kiss against the glass. He smiled and opened the door, taking a step forward. "Do that again." Kate stepped to the side, preparing to kiss the other door, but Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. Their bodies met as they had the first time he had kissed her, standing between the elevator doors. His hands found her hips as they came together, her arms settling against his chest. "So you really didn't forget your phone."

"No. I just wanted to surprise you." She wrapped her fingers around his tie. "Were you surprised?"

"I was," he smiled. "I was very surprised." Kate pulled on his tie, bringing his mouth to hers. He tightened his arms around her, as she teased his lips. "Katie," he moaned. "Unless you want to have naughty time on the couch in your office, we need to go home." She pulled out of his embrace, her fingers still clutching his tie. She smiled wickedly as she walked backwards, leading him to her office.

a/n2: THANK YOU to desina and Sorella-Aine for your wonderful PMs and idea bouncing. THANK YOU to everyone who has left a review and/or favorited or alerted. You guys are all awesome and if we all lived in the vicinity of each other, I'd be taking the lot of you to Shazam's for tacos and sundaes. (I have it on pretty good authority that they're good tacos.)