Chapter 5: Dubai

Kat tossed from one side to the other, trying to get comfortable in her seat and hopefully get some sleep before they arrived in Dubai, but it was proving impossible. Every time she shut her eyes she saw the bullet going through the Secretary's forehead, his brain getting splattered on the window and seat behind him. She shifted again, before jumping about a foot into the air when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, it's just me." Brandt soothed when she turned to him, startled.

"You okay?" He asked as he eyed her and she nodded.

"I'm fine." Kat said a little shakily and Brandt's brow lifted skeptically.

"Okay, no, I'm not fine." Kat admitted and Brandt nodded.

"It's normal." He reassured her quietly as he shifted just slightly in his seat to be more comfortable, turning his back to Jane as she slept on his other side. "You haven't been trained to deal with this kind of thing."

Kat stared at him, her gaze turning mournful as she asked him softly: "Does it ever get easier?"

"You learn to live with it." He replied and Kat stared at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"Are you okay?" She asked at last, her green eyes peering at him carefully. "I mean, he was your boss."

"I've been trained to deal with it." He replied with a light shrug, but Kat's next words caught him by surprise as she pointed out shrewdly: "That didn't answer my question."

Brandt paused, shifting slightly. He was suddenly aware just how close Kat was, physically, as she peered up at him from where she had her head on the side of her seat, right by his shoulder. It made him slightly uncomfortable to have her watching him so thoughtfully, her bright green eyes seeming to pore into his soul, and he was once again hit by how strangely collected this civilian was. She panicked whenever something unexpected happened, just as he would expect from someone not used to their field, but she had displayed an uncanny ability to calm herself quickly and to either follow orders without question – highly unusual from panicking civilians - or look for a logical solution to her problem.

"I don't think about it." Brandt told her at last. "You can feel guilty about it, but only after the mission is completed. Otherwise, you run the risk of letting personal emotions cloud your judgment."

Kat nodded in understanding, slowly lowering her eyes as she played with her hands. Brandt was just about to settle back in his seat when Kat said suddenly, her voice soft: "Sorry, by the way."

He glanced at her, surprised and confused.

"What?" He asked, and she repeated: "Sorry. I know I'm making you guys' mission harder than it needs to be. I want to help, but..."

She trailed off, clearly remembering Jane's words.

"Yeah..." Brandt began slowly as he stared at Kat, his gaze just as curious as hers had been earlier. He was reminded by how careful she was around them, keeping quiet and trying not to be a bigger bother than her untrained presence was. He'd caught her every time she'd been about to say something before she quickly silenced herself, clearly not wanting to draw attention to herself while they were busy planning.

It hadn't helped when Carter had snapped at her, and while the agent's words had been true, they were also uncalled for. He was just as unhappy as Carter about the fact that they had a civilian to look after, but he also knew it was unfair to take that out on the woman herself. Kat hadn't asked to be here any more than they'd asked for the situation and, like she'd said, she had just wanted to help in whatever way she could.

"Don't worry about it." Brandt said abruptly, making Kat look up at him in confusion.

"What Carter said." Brandt explained. "You're not in anyone's way. Just pay attention to what we tell you to do, and it'll be fine."

She stared at him, and Brandt was suddenly aware of how still Jane was behind him, a little too quiet. But he refocused on Kat as she said slowly: "You've never had to deal with an accidental civilian tag-along on your missions, have you?"

"Well, no." Brandt admitted.

"And I'm an analyst, remember?" He pointed out and she smiled faintly.

"Yeah." She answered and Brandt shifted uncomfortably again.

But Kat surprised him when she reached over and squeezed his hand softly, saying gratefully: "Thanks, Mr. Brandt."

He blinked while she withdrew her hand and started to settle down, finally feeling a little better and hopefully enough to actually sleep. She glanced up as Brandt cleared his throat before saying abruptly: "Will."

"What?" She asked, frowning a little in confusion and Brandt explained a little uncomfortably: "Call me Will. Since it looks like we're stuck together for now."

She snorted once, but she was still smiling as she felt her eyes close and she murmured: "Thanks... Will."

*******

Needless to say, Dunn had been very amused and interested when they got off the plane, and he found Kat calling Brandt by his first name. He'd wiggled his brows at Brandt, making both Brandt and Kat frown in confusion, before he insisted Kat call him by his name as well. Carter had joined in, agreeing that it was fine in a much kinder way than the last time she'd spoken in Kat's direction, much to Kat's relief.

So when Kat got into the jeep they had borrowed for their stay in Dubai, she found she was sitting beside Will and across from Benji as he typed on his laptop, while Jane sat beside Ethan as he drove them through the desert and towards the city. It felt a little nicer though, as though she was starting to get to know her new travelling companions better, and it definitely helped her to keep calm as they drove closer to where they knew two world-class criminals would be meeting.

Apparently, Brandt was thinking along the same lines as he asked to the group at large: "So even if we can double Wistrom and Moreau, how do we keep them in separate rooms while having them think they are in the same room?"

"We give the hotel a facelift." Ethan replied, making Kat stare at him as though he'd suggested they jump off the Burj Khalifa. Was he serious?

Ethan continued, oblivious to her shock: "Wistrom will think he's arriving at Moreau's suite. But really, he will be walking into our decoy room-"

"Where I'll double Moreau." Jane added, and Ethan went on: "Downstairs Benji will double Wistrom-"

"Masks!" Benji said excitedly, giving Kat a cheery wink, and Kat seriously began to question their sanity.

"-And meet with real Moreau." Ethan finished, while Benji beamed at them before he turned back to his laptop.

Kat stared at them wordlessly while Brandt frowned and he asked uncertainly: "And uh, huh, what am I doing?"

"You?" Benji asked in surprise as he looked at Brandt before he smiled widely. "You're the helper."

Kat raised a brow at the clearly condescending comment while Brandt deadpanned: "Help ... that's great."

Benji grinned, sending Kat another wink and making her snort this time, before he turned back to his laptop. Brandt started again, his voice heavy with skepticism: "Okay, so, to the extent I understand what are you talking about here, uhm..."

Kat saw that Ethan was trying to hold back an amusement smirk as he simply listened to Brant list: "Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. And you want to alter its infrastructure, with the hopes of convincing two people that they had a meeting, which actually really never happened. Right?"

Ethan grinned, unable to hold back his amusement at the clear disbelief in Brandt's voice, and he turned his head to look back at the other man while giving Kat a wide smile.

"Uh!" Jane warned suddenly, and Kat glanced out the front windshield at the same time that Ethan turned back to look at the road. Her eyes widened and that was all the reaction time she got, before Ethan swerved sharply. Jane braced herself in the front seat while Benji hit himself in the face with his laptop and Brandt grunted in surprise as Kat went flying right into his lap.

"Sorry." She gasped, completely mortified as Brandt glanced down at her in surprise, before Ethan jerked the car back onto the right side of the road, once again throwing them. Brandt hit his head on Benji's as Kat whacked her head on Benji's laptop.

"Oi!" Benji complained as he, Brandt, and Kat all rubbed their heads in pain, and Ethan replied a little apologetically and with a small shrug: "Camels."

*******

Ethan drove them to the safe house they would be staying at, and Kat looked around with interest. It was a small place, with one bedroom up a set of creaky wooden stairs, and a tiny bathroom and kitchen/sitting area downstairs. Definitely not five star, but she could live with it as long as there weren't any cockroaches. She was terrified of cockroaches. And snakes.

"We need to keep those clothes hanging so they don't crease too much. We don't want to arouse suspicion." Ethan ordered as they all trudged inside, carrying their bags.

He pointed to their suits as he began: "Benji-"

"I'll do it." Kat volunteered, picking up all the hangers and carrying them up the stairs and to the bedroom where she was sure there would be a closet of some kind. "And maybe I can iron them while we wait."

"You don't have to-" Brandt began, but she waved him off as she reached the top of the stairs, saying with a shrug: "It's not like I have anything else to do."

She shut the door behind her out of habit, heading for the small alcove-like closet as she looked for an iron, and Brandt closed his mouth and sat back down. He caught Benji wiggling his brows at him from where the techie was setting up his computers, and Brandt frowned.

"What?" Brandt demanded, and Benji replied lightly: "Nothing... just that our civilian seems to have taken a shine to you."

"Right." Brandt snorted, and Benji teased: "She has been glued to your side since we landed; I'm sure Ethan's starting to feel a little lonely."

Ethan chuckled at that, shaking his head at his friend while Brandt rolled his eyes.

"Wonder why she's suddenly so attached to our helper." Benji continued as he checked his computers, and Brandt started to open his mouth to retort when Jane added slyly: "Must be because of the 'moment' they shared on the plane."

"I knew you weren't asleep." Brandt groaned while Ethan raised a brow and Benji guffawed.

"I was." Jane retorted. "Until you two woke me with your sweet exchange."

Brandt glared at her, clearly not amused, but it only made Benji and Jane smile wider in amusement.

"I can't find the iron." Kat called as she walked back out of the bedroom and down the stairs, having hung up all the suits in the 'closet'. "Do you know where..."

She trailed off as she was met with wide Cheshire cat smiles from Jane and Benji while Brandt sighed and Ethan just chuckled again.

"... Was it something I said?" Kat asked, confused, and Brandt sighed.

"No." He told her, and Kat frowned, her confusion only growing when Benji started laughing out loud.

"Okay, we need to focus now." Ethan chided gently, and Benji turned to him, still smiling but calming down as Ethan ordered: "They'll be here in less than three hours. We need to be checked in within the next two hours, so let's hurry it up."

They all nodded, everyone getting up and getting ready to move as planned. The men all crowded towards the bathroom to shave and get clean as Kat found an iron and began smoothing every crease out of the suits while Jane started to clean up, setting her hair carefully before pulling out an incredible makeup kit as she started to get ready for her role as Moreau.

"Now I know why spies always have perfect makeup." Kat observed as she stared at the impressive collection, and Jane chuckled.

"That's only in movies." She told Kat as she started on her makeup while she let her hair products set. "You haven't seen us after a fight."

"I saw Ethan." Kat pointed out, and Jane countered: "And look what happened to you."

She gestured at Kat's many cuts and bruises and the girl grimaced.

"Point taken." Kat conceded as she finished ironing two of the shirts.

"You got through that really quickly." Jane observed in surprise, noting the already freshly ironed jackets, pants, and her dress, and Kat shrugged.

"I used to help my mom out with my dad's stuff." She explained. "And it was always when it needed to be rushed so I got good at getting it done quickly."

Jane nodded in understanding before she turned back to her makeup. Kat had just started on the last shirt when Brandt walked in- half-naked.

"Have you got my suit?" He asked as Jane glanced over while Kat went bright red.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Kat demanded, trying not to let her embarrassment show and failing miserably as she felt even her ears go red. Brandt looked at her blankly while Jane raised a brow before she grinned.

"It's there." Jane called as she pointed at the suits hanging behind Kat.

"Oh, thanks." Brandt replied nonchalantly as he walked over to get it.

Only to stop as Kat lifted the hot iron warningly, as she cried: "Hang on!"

"What?" Brandt demanded, eyeing the iron warily as he automatically held his hands up in surrender.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Kat repeated, and he glanced down at his naked chest as though confused as to what the problem was.

"I just washed, why would I get back into the shirt I just changed out of?" He asked, confused, and before Kat could reply Benji walked in shirtless as well.

"Hey, you actually managed to iron them." Benji cheered while Kat kept her eyes fixed on the ironing board.

Jane was beyond amused, and she was struggling to contain her laughter at the poor woman's distress as Kat asked in a forced controlled voice: "Why can't you guys wear your shirts?"

"What?" Benji asked before he glanced down. Brandt finally realized what the problem was and he sighed.

"Just give us our suits and we can get dressed." He told Kat, who was looking completely mortified. Benji caught Brandt's tone and he examined Kat more closely.

"Hey, you haven't..." He began when Kat threw his shirt in his face, somewhat ruining her efforts as it wrinkled just slightly.

"Here, take it, go." She muttered, grabbing the rest of his suit and handing it over quickly. Benji raised his brows and was about to make some comment or other when Jane walked over, finally deciding to help the younger woman out of her misery.

"Come on. Out." She ordered as she grabbed Benji. "I need to finish getting ready too."

She hauled Benji out as Brandt looked at Kat expectantly.

"Where's my shirt?" He asked, and Kat meekly held up the one she hadn't ironed yet. Brandt sighed.

"Can you finish it quickly?" He asked and she nodded, refusing to meet his eyes or look anywhere near him. She wasn't quite sure why she'd reacted the way she had, but the second Brandt had walked in it was like all reason had left her mind.

"You can't honestly tell me you've never seen a guy shirtless." Brandt said flatly and she growled as she quickly ironed his shirt: "Of course I've seen guys shirtless."

"So what's the problem?" He asked, half exasperated and half genuinely curious. Kat didn't answer, although if she was being honest she couldn't answer. She wasn't sure what had come over her; she'd been fine around Ethan. Heck, she'd even clung onto the man while he'd been half-naked when they'd zip-lined away from the Russian police, or 'Mr. Unreasonable' as Kat dubbed him. So why had she reacted differently now?

"Here." Kat muttered as she handed him his shirt, along with the rest of his suit, while trying not to look at his bare chest or clearly defined abs. Yeah, definitely not looking. "It's finished."

Brandt frowned but didn't question it, simply taking the clothes and walking out, rushing to get ready. Kat finally lifted her eyes, only to see Jane watching her with amusement clearly shining in her eyes.

"What?" Kat muttered, feeling incredibly self-conscious and Jane just laughed at her.

"Are the suits ready?" Ethan asked as he walked in, also missing his shirt, and Kat turned to him, nodding as she tried to calm down.

"Here." She replied, handing him his stuff and missing Jane's raised eyebrow before a thoughtful look crossed the older woman's face as she watched Kat watch Ethan leave. She noted the much calmer girl with surprise, and she replayed what had happened before, a small frown appearing on her face as she pieced it together and realized what the difference factor had been.

"Jane?"

Jane broke out of her thoughts to glance up at Kat's questioning tone, noting the woman's hesitance as she held up Jane's blue dress suit. Jane smiled, nodding her thanks as she took the suit while making a mental note to herself for later, after they'd gotten the codes. And hopefully at least given Moreau a good kick or two.

*A/N So, I just really wanted to add in that part on the ironing even if Kat's job is completely unrelated and quite frankly useless. So, sue me.