Erosion
No Barriers.

Kate woke to the feel of him against her. At some point she'd rolled onto her back and he'd followed, his hand now wrapped around her breast, face pressed into the curve of her throat, his breath warm over her skin.

Her dreams had left her feeling oddly jumbled; a calm sense of comfort with a nagging sense of something left unresolved. The reassurance she drew from his presence at her side, and in her bed, wasn't enough with the knowledge that there was something more she should do.

She lay drifting, her mind too tangled to sleep again, until finally her need to use the bathroom made her decision for her.

Slipping out from underneath him, carefully, so as not to wake him, she hunted in the darkness for something to wear against the chill of the night-time air. She found her robe at the foot of the bed and slipped it on before padding quietly into the bathroom.

Having freshened up, she glanced at him in the bed, sleeping soundly, and tiptoed to the lounge room. Tidying away their meal she found space for the leftover takeout in the fridge and got herself a glass of milk.

She stood in the kitchen, the hum of the refrigerator a background echo of the buzzing in her head as she looked across the shadowed room to the dimly illuminated shutters that hid her murderboard; the shrine she'd made of her mother's death. There were other things of her scattered about; books she shared with her daughter, the old tea-set at the back of her kitchen cabinets, photographs from happier days. They were the things she wanted to focus on. Memories of the life they'd shared rather than the one event that took her from it.

Kate placed her glass on the counter and walked hesitantly into her study. Standing before the shutters she ran her hand over the timber, let the bump of her fingers over the slats bring her awareness back to the now, away from a past she couldn't change, no matter how she wished she could.

Swinging both panes open she looked across at the photos and notes that had long since been etched into her subconscious. She glanced around her, down at her desk, and to the shelves against the wall, and found it; the shoebox container old letters and postcards. She'd find a better home for them later, but for now...

With a deep breath and a determined furrowing of her brow she stepped back to the board. One by one she removed each photograph, each scrap of evidence, and each unanswered question, and packed them away inside the box.

She was almost finished when she felt him across the room, and she paused, her hand pressed flat against the window.

He came up behind her, his arms wrapping around her stomach as he leaned into her back, and pressed a silent kiss to her temple.

They stayed like that, not moving, just leaning against each other, for several long moments before she broke the silence.

"It felt like it was time."

"It's a big step," he whispered into her hair.

"Mmmm, perhaps. But you said you had this."

His head moved against hers in a nod. "I do."

"And your board has an off switch."

"It does."

"Then let's leave it at that," the quiet certainty in her voice convincing them both.

Rick closed his eyes against the welling of tears, unable to remember when he last cried, and tightened his hold on the woman in his arms. "I love you, Kate."

"I know. And I love you. I wish I could tell you how much."

He sighed, swallowing against the rise of emotion. "You just did."

The. End.

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A/N- i think i actually just finished this whole thing?

I know there were lots of scenes that you asked to see in this (like a night out with Lanie, and Jim over for dinner, and other side-story sorta things) but it felt to me like the main story had been told.

If i do feel like coming back to individual scenes they'll just be little epilogue one-shots that won't have to follow up immediately... and i'll post them here so they're easy to find.

Thanks to everyone that shared this journey with me. A few people mentioned in reviews that they'd re-read the whole thing again from the beginning once it was complete! Wow! If you do i'll erect a monument in your honour!

If you have read this through in one shot PLEASE let me know what you thought... even if this has been posted for a while i would be SO SO GRATEFUL for feedback. The author alerts and favourites and story subscriptions are lovely and all but nothing compares to a review.