Chapter 12: The End?

"And in other news, eight weeks later,the debate continues.Eyewitnesses remain adamantthat the object was some sort of aircraft,but officials with the Department of Defenseinsist it was simply a meteor large enough to be visible during daylight."

Kat watched the news report absently not really paying it much heed, as her thoughts wandered. She wondered if this was what it was like to be Ethan, or Jane, or Benji... or Brandt. They put their lives at risk to save people only for it to all disappear into the shadows, them included, as the people they'd saved didn't even know they'd been in danger in the first place.

"Kat!"

Kat turned, startled out of her thoughts to see Bella pouting at her.

"You're no listening!" Bella scolded, and Kat smiled.

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly, "I got distracted."

"By that?" Kat's mother, Abigail, asked as she nodded at the TV. "That's a silly old debate; one of those upstarts trying to prove aliens exist or something."

"Aliens do exist." Bella argued immediately. "And ghosts! I've seen one."

"Of course you have, dearie." Abigail replied without missing a beat. She'd long since learnt not to argue with Bella about these kinds of matters; fifteen years would teach anyone that Bella Williams could be more stubborn than even Kat's father.

"Huh, but that is a load of bull." Kat's father, Mike, commented as he gestured at the news. "I mean, really, why would an aircraft go flying across the San Francisco Bay?"

"It could mean the aliens are invading." Bella replied seriously. "Maybe it's why Kat's been so distracted lately!"

"Now, Bella," Abigail said severely, "Kat's been through a rough time after what happened at the Kremlin, and getting lost in the middle of Russia because of a mistake in paperwork at the hospital, with no passport and no way home. She was lucky that kind man offered to help her, oh, what was his name again, Kat?"

"...James." Kat answered absently, and Abigail nodded.

"That was it." She said. "It just goes to show that there are good souls in the world..."

Kat tuned her mother out, staring blankly ahead. It had been eight weeks. Eight weeks, since that whole IMF fiasco. And yet, time had never seemed to move so slowly. It had only been eight weeks, and yet it had been eight whole weeks.

'Maybe because you never got to say goodbye.' Kat thought sadly. She'd woken up, alone, in a hospital in Russia. According to the doctors, she had been moved there after emergency surgery in India, before it was deemed safe enough to bring her back under Mr Unreasonable of all people, or Sidorov's, guidance.

He'd grown on her during the time he'd apologized though- probably because he spilled that Ethan had been hospitalized with her for a while, which prompted her to ask the nurses. After a little pushing, the nurse admitted there had been a man, not Ethan, who watched over her dutifully until just before she woke up, when both he and Ethan disappeared. And Kat knew exactly who, and why.

She thought, given his response to her surprising kiss, that he returned her feelings and she was pretty sure it wasn't rejection. And if she was honest, she'd expected as much, knowing – particularly after Brandt's story about Ethan's wife – that she could never contact them again. But... but she had hoped they might at least have said goodbye, before they left.

Suddenly, Kat was blinking back tears and the room seemed stuffy, and hard to breathe in.

"I'm just going to go outside." Kat muttered, interrupting her mother.

Abigail blinked, surprised while Mike and Bella looked up from where they'd quietly been arguing over the possibility of the mysterious object hitting the Transamerica Pyramid being alien or not.

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Abigail asked, concerned as Kat grabbed a jacket and headed for the front door. "You shouldn't really be doing anything strenuous."

"Yeah, I'm just going to get some fresh air." Kat mumbled as she stepped outside, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"What's the matter with her?" Mike demanded, and Abigail shook her head, sighing: "Ever since she got back from Russia... Oh, I knew it was a bad idea to let her go!"

"I'd bet it's boy trouble." Bella advised, and both Mike and Abigail rolled their eyes.

********

Meanwhile, at Pier 47, Seattle

"Hey." Benji greeted as he, Jane, and Brandt arrived at the place Ethan had told them about.

Ethan turned, smiling at them as Luther commented from his seat across from his old friend: "This must be them."

"Luther Stickell," Ethan introduced, "the firm of Carter, Dunn and Brandt."

Jane grinned as Benji smiled at Luther, who retorted: "I blew an entire weekend on the bottom of the San Francisco Bay. No thanks to you clowns."

Ethan chuckled as Luther took a final swig of his beer before getting up, a hand reaching for his jean pocket as he made to leave.

"No, man, you know I got this." Ethan said, waving Luther's hand away, and Luther chuckled as he replied: "I know."

He removed his hand to point his middle finger at Ethan good-naturedly, before greeting: "I'll see you in Kandahar."

Luther nodded at the others as he left, heading down the pier, while the three moved to sit at the empty chairs as Ethan told them: "Hey, thanks for meeting me."

He glanced at each of them, noting Benji's somewhat disheartened air, Jane's slightly improved air, and Brandt's downright miserable air.

"So," Benji began as he sat down, "I hear the insurance company's refusing to pay the claim on that car you crashed, Ethan. Something about intentional 100-meter vertical drops not being covered."

He smiled, and Ethan chuckled at his joke, replying: "Go figure."

They all chuckled, even Brandt cracking a smile, but it quickly slid off his face. Ethan watched him, but turned his attention to Jane as she asked: "How's the leg?"

"Still working." Ethan replied lightly before he became serious, asking: "You?"

Jane smiled, answering his implied question: "Healing."

Ethan smiled back, before snorting as Benji chimed in: "I'm fine, by the way. I'm not actually sleeping, per se. You know, cold sweats, middle of the night."

The team's expressions became just a little more serious, all understanding. Benji leant forward, whispering: "All these people are just happy and smiling, and they are completely oblivious to the fact that they were almost vaporized. And, if it hadn't been for..."

He trailed off, trying to find the right words, when Brandt chimed in: "Dumb luck?"

"Was it?" Ethan countered. "I mean, look, we were unprepared, in the dark. Disavowed. And accompanied by a civilian."

Jane smiled a little, while Benji glanced at Brandt who'd stiffened just slightly. Ethan pretended not to notice, although his eyes were on Brandt as he continued: "And the only thing that functioned properly on that mission... was this team."

He looked at each of them, as he continued seriously: "I don't know how we ended up together... but I'm glad we did."

He smiled slightly, adding gently as he looked back at Brandt: "And I don't regret meeting anyone from that day."

Benji and Jane glanced at Brandt too, knowing it was where Ethan's implication was pointed. Brandt refused to meet any of their gazes, as Ethan watched him carefully.

Ethan finally broke the silence, pulling out three cell phones and laying them on the table in a row as he said: "Your missions... choose to accept them."

There was a pause as each of them weighed that in their minds, before Benji shrugged: "Hey... I'm in."

The others glanced at him, raising a brow slightly as he said lightly: "Seriously, I mean, it's not as if any mission is going to be rougher than the last one, is it?" He chuckled. "I mean, that's just... A bomb... Is it?"

He pretended to be appalled, before bursting out laughing, the others joining in and even Brandt was chuckling before it faded. They became serious once more as they contemplated the choice before them before Benji took a phone.

He rose, holding out a hand as he greeted: "Thanks, Ethan."

Ethan took it gratefully as he replied: "Thank you."

Benji smiled at them all before he left, and Jane stood next, patting Ethan's shoulder as she said: "Agent Hunt."

"Agent Carter." He replied as she took a phone, shooting one last meaningful look at Brandt before she, too left.

Ethan turned to look at Brandt, watching as the man knit his brows before he exhaled. He stood, not meeting Ethan's eyes as he made to leave without the phone, when Ethan called: "Brandt..."

Brandt paused, sighing before he said quietly: "I'm not picking up that phone, Ethan, because I don't think you want me in the field."

"I know." Ethan commented, and Brandt sighed: "It's not just about... her."

Ethan paused, before glancing out across the pier as Brandt finally admitted: "I know... your wife is dead. I was there in Croatia. I was there for one reason. One."

Ethan listened quietly, waiting as Brandt paused, before he finished, his voice breaking: "And I failed. It was my job to protect her."

"How do you know she's dead?" Ethan asked, his gaze still focused across the pier.

Brandt frowned, glancing at Ethan as he replied slowly: "There was a body."

"Did you see it?" Ethan asked, and Brandt paused. He dared not believe it...

Ethan was still staring across the pier where a ferry had just pulled in, and he watched the group of people disembark as Brandt said uncertainly: "You... You killed those Serbians."

"I had to get her back." Ethan replied, and Brandt continued in disbelief: "You were sent to Rankow Prison."

"That was a sacrifice I was willing to make." Ethan explained. "IMF suspected Hendricks had people in Rankow."

Brandt's mouth fell partially open before he snapped it shut, and he murmured in realization: "And six dead Serbians was the ideal cover."

"Well, waste not, want not." Ethan shrugged as he watched a certain brown-haired woman walking up the pier. Brandt didn't notice his preoccupation, too stunned by this new revelation.

He slowly sank back into one of the chairs beside Ethan, his legs giving out and he placed his head in his hand as he began to chuckle in absolutely disbelief.

"The Secretary never told me." He said at last, and Ethan turned away from the pier to look at Brandt as the man groaned: "Oh, God..."

"I accepted the Rankow Prison mission on one condition." Ethan said to Brandt seriously. "That no one could know she was still alive."

"But..." Brandt commented, looking at Ethan and meeting the other man's eye, "you're telling me."

Ethan nodded and Brandt exhaled as he realized two things.

"When did you find out I was in Croatia?" He asked, choosing the lesser of the two evils, and Ethan replied lightly: "I pulled your file after India."

"Right." Brandt muttered, continuing to skirt around the other issue. "So you had to fake your wife's death."

"As long as we're together, she can never be safe." Ethan replied, and Brandt nodded. "I know you know exactly how that feels."

"Yeah." Brandt sighed before he looked over at the phone on the table. Ethan's offer... and his understanding. "Ok. So, we're good."

He reached for the phone, but Ethan wasn't finished.

"It wasn't your job to protect her, Brandt." Ethan said quietly as his eyes slid back over the pier to stare at the brunette woman walking passed a row of houses. "It's mine."

His eyes paused as the brunette woman walked right passed another woman with lighter brown hair leaning on the gate outside her home.

"Just as it's your job, more than anyone else's, to protect Kat." Ethan finished and Brandt paused. He sighed, looking at Ethan as he opened his mouth to answer before frowning slightly as he noticed Ethan's preoccupation. He glanced in the direction Ethan was looking, and he froze.

"Sometimes," Ethan said quietly as Brandt slowly stood up, "the best way to protect them... is to say goodbye. But, you owe it to them," Brandt looked back at Ethan in disbelief, "to do it properly."

Brandt's eyes were wide and he swallowed as he looked back out over the pier towards the brunette woman, just as she looked in his direction.

********

Kat's mouth fell open, and she gasped, her eyes widening when she saw the familiar figure standing on the pier across from her. Green eyes met blue, and then Kat was tugging at her front gate, wrenching it open as she tried to get to Brandt. She finally got her gate unlocked and dashed out, only to see the table empty, its two previous occupants vanished into thin air.

"Not again." Kat whispered, looking around frantically for any sign of Brandt, and who she thought she recognized as Ethan. Kat yelped as someone tugged on her arm, pulling her around. Her hand automatically lifted to hit the other person when she found herself staring right into the blue eyes that she both had dreams and nightmares about.

"Will..." Kat breathed, her hand stilling, although a part of her still itched to slap him, as he gazed back at her. "It's actually you. You're here."

"Yeah." Brandt muttered as Kat moved the hand she'd been meaning to hit him with, placing it gently against his cheek as she made sure he was real. Brandt leant into her touch, closing his eyes momentarily before opening them and staring at her, as though reading her soul.

"How...?" Kat began, and Brandt explained: "Ethan wanted to meet us here."

"Us?" Kat asked, and Brandt elaborated: "Me, Benji, Jane."

"They were here?" Kat asked, but her eyes didn't even move to search for her other friends, a large part of her terrified that Brandt would disappear the second she was no longer looking.

"Yeah. They left before we saw you." Brandt murmured, before finally asking: "What are you doing here?"

"My parents live here." Kat replied, and Brandt nodded.

"Oh... so that's why Ethan was adamant about meeting here." He muttered, and Kat finally found her tongue.

"Why did you just leave?" She demanded. "Why didn't you say goodbye? Didn't I deserve at least that much?"

It had been plaguing her ever since he'd disappeared without a trace- why? She could understand him leaving, and she would never stop him. But...

"I know." Brandt said quietly, and Kat snapped, her temper flaring a little: "That's not an answer."

"I know." Brandt repeated, a faint smile appearing on his face before it disappeared as he became serious once more. "I... just hoped, it might make it easier. For both of us."

"It didn't." Kat told him bluntly, and Brandt winced.

"Yeah, I know." He muttered. "I've regretted it every day since."

He stared at Kat, his hand moving to hover just over her cheek as he fought against saying out loud what could never be said between them. His fingers barely brushed over her cheek, before he dropped it back to his side.

"I'm sorry." He murmured at last, and Kat nodded.

"I'm sorry, too." She whispered, before Brandt leaned in and she leaned up to meet him as he pressed his lips to hers. His lips were soft as they gently caressed hers, before his hands tightened around her waist, pulling her against him as his tongue glided along her bottom lip, seeking permission, which she gladly gave.

Brandt deepened the kiss as Kat's hands moved to the back of his neck, holding him close as his kiss became desperate and his hands bit into her skin in an effort to somehow bring her closer against him. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she kissed him back for all she was worth, both knowing that when the kiss ended, it would be over. It would be the end, the final period at the close of a chapter that neither wanted to finish.

But air was a necessity and all too soon for them, they broke apart. Kat didn't open her eyes as she breathed heavily, feeling his breath against her cheek as Brandt also caught his breath back. She slowly loosened her grip on his neck as he let go of her waist, the pair still standing close but no longer touching. She was fighting back tears, and Kat didn't dare open her eyes, feeling Brandt's gaze on her face and knowing that if she looked at him now, she would break down and cry.

His lips ghosted over her forehead before he whispered against her skin: "Goodbye, Kat."

Kat opened her eyes as she felt his warmth disappear, and he was already gone. She bit down on her lip, trying to stop the tears from falling as she slowly roamed the pier with her eyes, knowing there was no point but holding onto that shred of hope. But it was time to return to reality, and she swallowed as she found no sign that Brandt existed let alone that he'd been there just seconds ago.

The only remainder of his presence was the tingling feeling on her lips from where he'd surely bruised it with the force of his kiss. Another tear slipped down her face before she brushed it away determinedly.

"Goodbye." Kat whispered into the wind that had both brought and taken him, before she turned, heading back to her house with her head held high.

"Where have you been?" Abigail demanded as Kat closed the door behind her.

"Just... thinking." Kat replied and Abigail raised a brow as she studied her daughter.

"Oh? And what were you thinking about?" She asked, noting the lighter atmosphere surrounding Kat compared to when she'd left the house. Kat smiled.

"Ghosts."