A minute later, Kate answered the neighbor's door wearing her turquoise silk kimono, the one she'd worn so recently at Justin's own place. Justin frowned, then was about to speak when she interrupted him.

"Justin!" she said in surprise, hair a mess, sex flush blotching her face and upper chest.

"I thought you bought the place next door," he said.

"I did," she said without explanation.

Ben, similarly flushed and dressed in a far more conservative kimono, stepped up behind Kate, putting his left hand on her shoulder.

That's when Justin noticed the rings on both their left hands. Wedding rings.

"So you stole Kate," Justin said.

"You can't steal a person," Ben said. "Unless you're still stuck in the heartbalm statute era of alienation of affection or criminal conversation. Oh, wait, you can't be because it's not 1939 any more and you're not married."

Justin swung at Ben, but Ben backed away from the punch. Justin's knuckle just missed Ben's face. "ADA Patrick, you really don't want to do that. It's a bad career move, and you're the only candidate."

Justin looked at his hand like it belonged to someone else. "I'm sorry," Justin said. "I lost it for a moment. I heard a rumor that you two eloped," he said, pointing at their rings.

"No," Kate said. "It's . . . it's complicated." Ben's hand squeezed Kate's shoulder lightly.

"When-. When were you going to tell me?"

"Come on in, Justin," Ben offered. "Would you like some coffee? A drink?"

"Water, thanks. I came over to deliver two boxes of Kate's stuff." Ben fetched the water, put ice and a lemon slice in it, then placed it in front of Justin. Justin looked up at Ben. "This your place?"

"It is."

Justin snorted. "Of course."

#

Justin sat at the head of Ben's dining table like he belonged in that chair, and Kate sat on one of the sides. Justin's presumption irritated Ben, but he was not going to let Justin know that. Instead, he put the kettle on for coffee.

He felt uneasy about leaving Justin and Kate alone in his place under the circumstances, but Kate wasn't going to put her stuff away right now, and Ben wanted that off his mind. If Justin saw him bring the boxes into his own place, it'd only be worse.

"May I borrow your keys so I can put the boxes in your place?"

Kate gestured at her purse, and Ben felt around for the keys, then pushed the two boxes inside Kate's front door. He treturned, putting Kate's keys back on her purse, then sat down opposite Kate. So far as he knew, they'd said nothing while he was gone.

Justin growled, "What the hell is going on?"

Kate looked to Ben, pleading for help. "I'm here, Kate, but what you do or don't want to tell him is your business."

She looked back at Justin. "Well, uh, we're getting married. Ben and I, that is. I asked him last night."

Justin looked between them. "You just asked him. Last night."

Ben said, "He heard the rumor, which was really my fault," Ben lied. "Do you want me to explain that?"

Kate gestured, palms up. "Please."

"We were feeling silly one night after a case, and I was celebrating. For me, that means playing music in my office, and I'd pulled out a bottle to have one shot. Kate joined me, and we started dancing around my office."

"And I tripped."

"I was worried about her, so I took her to the emergency room to get checked out-"

"And I was embarrassed and didn't want him to call anyone."

"So I lied for her and said I was her husband when we checked into the emergency room. Apparently word got out." Ben shrugged.

"I didn't want to arrive at Lauren's with Ben driving at four in the morning, so Ben got me a motel room, and I slept there and actually took a day off work."

Ben noticed the shift from hotel to motel and her downplaying of the event in question, not that it was actually any of Justin's business.

"So, how long has this," Justin gestured between the two of them, "been going on, Kate?"

Ben tilted his head. "Is that actually any of your business?" What he said came out snider than he'd intended, but it was actually a serious question.

Kate said, "Good point. No, I don't actually think it is."

Justin started to interrupt.

"No, no," Kate said, "Hear me out first. Remember that conversation we had right before Ben and I went to Tahoe?"

Justin nodded.

"I said - and you agreed - 'We're free to just be. There's no promises, no plans, there's no pressure.'"

"But then I got back and said I did want to make plans. I wanted to make promises. I didn't want to settle. I didn't want for us to just be."

"You said what you wanted to do. You never asked me what I wanted."

"I assumed-"

"Right, Justin. You did. And you kept on assuming."

"But-"

"Pop quiz time, Justin. When was the last time I had an orgasm during sex with you?"

Ben turned to see Justin's reaction.

Justin gestured at Ben. "Do you really want to talk about this in front of him?"

"Yes, yes I do. So: when?"

"Well, last time we were together."

"No, Justin, that was the last time I faked it. When was the last real one?"

Ben's eyebrows lifted of their own accord. Now there's a talk he and Kate needed to have, obviously.

"I, uh-"

"Right, you don't know because you haven't been paying attention to what I've been saying. Even when it wasn't words. So you're right Justin. We're not the same people we used to be." Kate wiped a tear out of the corner of her eyes. "And, much as it pains me to admit it, you were right to file for divorce." Ben walked around the table, grabbing tissues from a drawer on the way, pulling a chair up to sit next to her and put his arm around her. He handed her a tissue and she wiped the corners of her eyes.

"And then there's the whole Claudia Alves case. Even though Ben didn't believe Claudia or my faith in her, he gave key suggestions and acted as her attorney. Then she throws a private concert for you and I - and you're there checking your phone! You can't even sit through a couple of songs. Claudia even saw that I was more into Ben than you, but she didn't pick up on that until she saw the three of us together."

Kate kept on, "and then you started telling me how I felt. 'This is nice, right?' you asked, then I asked you what, and you said, 'This. Us. Feels good.' And then I said, 'Are you asking or telling?' and you laughed. That was a serious question and you blew me off. I went and listened to Claudia and thought of Ben while you were on the phone. And then you insisted on apartment hunting and claimed it was my idea just because I said I didn't want to live at your place. What you didn't realize was that I was coming to the conclusion that I didn't want to live with you. Not again."

Justin blew up. "So you cheated on me. With all people, this guy."

"Justin, you were not listening to me. How is it cheating when we'd never agreed to be exclusive? Every time you tried to call us something more than I wanted, you didn't listen to my answers. Case in point: when Claudia asked us about our relationship, we gave very different answers. You never cared about what I wanted, you didn't question the answers I gave, and you never, not once, said we were going from seeing other people to being exclusive. And, for the record, how many people have you had sex with? Because for me, that number is two."

Justin let out a big sigh. "So that whole getting back with me-"

"Was about my being afraid, true, but it was fear about how I felt about Ben. It wasn't about you. You had to know something was wrong, didn't you?"

Justin threw his hands in the air. "I knew something was different, but I'd assumed it was because we'd changed. It felt better."

"Not for me. I kept waking up crying. I'd have strange dreams, like mediating cats and dogs with great crashing tsunami waves ending the mediation. I just wasn't brave enough to move forward. Then when we'd gotten back together, I wasn't brave enough to end that, either, even though I knew it was wrong for me and it was really hurting Ben's feelings. And I have to work with Ben."

"You both also need to work with me," Justin pointed out.

Kate said, "Yes, but your office isn't next to mine. Besides, I did get DA Davidson to bow out of the race."

Justin replied, "I still don't know how you did that."

"Kate magic," she said. "So here's what I want. Ben and I are getting married in a couple of weeks. My father's dead-"

"No, no, you can't ask me that."

Kate glowered at him. "You still owe me for cheating on me. This is the apology I want from you."

Justin stared at her for a few minutes while Ben shifted uneasily in his chair. Even Kate began to fidget.

"I lied to you about one sexual failing. How long were you faking it?"

Kate looked down. "It started about a year before you filed. I'd get so angry over having to do all the work to have sex at all that I couldn't manage to enjoy myself enough to come. While that's not being honest with you, it's not like I went outside our marriage for sex like you did. I was just never happy."

"That's about the same time I had the affair, Kate. Look, obviously, we can't get back to the happy times. I'll forgive you if you forgive me, but I'll walk you down the aisle because your dad's not here, not because I want to do it. Maybe we can both be happier by moving on."

Kate nodded. "I knew you wouldn't be happy about this, Justin. I forgive you. You really need a politician's wife now, Justin. I'd be horrible at it and I'd hate it and you know that. You're growing in a new direction, and you need someone who's more with you than I ever was. Someone not off on her own trip all the time."

Justin nodded, then smiled. "Yeah, you are kind of a pain in the ass that way."

"Yeah. Tiger. Stripes. You know me. There's one more thing. It's going to be a costume wedding with a superhero theme. Don't blame Ben for that, it was my idea. Given that you've gotten the nickname Superman, that sounds like a good choice for you."

"What will you two be going as?"

"Catwoman and Batman."

"Perfect. A criminal and a vigilante."

"Be nice, Justin," Kate scolded.

"What's Lauren going as?"

Ben finally chimed in, "I'm hoping for Seven of Nine."

Despite his foul mood, Justin smiled. "I'd pay to see that."

Ben smiled and said, "I am paying to see that."

Justin said, "Well, I just came by to give Kate back her stuff." He turned to Ben. "Take care of her."

"I will."

"Good luck, Kate," he said, leaning to kiss Kate on her cheek. "Do you mind?" Justin asked Ben.

"No, but thanks for asking." Justin kissed Kate's cheek and she hugged him back.

Ben led Justin to the door, said goodbye. When the door closed, Ben leaned on it.

"I'm so sorry," Kate said, "that was a lot of drama you had to witness."

"Look, I knew you came with baggage, Katie." He smiled. "I'm just not used to seeing the quality of the stitching."

"And?"

"It's very detailed stitching." He walked over to her. "How about breakfast in bed? Belgian waffles with strawberries and bananas with some sausage?"

"Throw in more coffee and I'm in."

"It shall be done."

Kate said, "Just one thing. Seven of Nine? Lauren?"

Ben chuckled and shrugged.