In this story Patrick began dating Marty a few months after the Spring Fling. They are raising a three-year-old little girl together named Kayleigh... but things are not what they seem.
*~o~*
She sat on the edge of the ocean, watching her little girl playing in the sand. Kayleigh wore a string of pearls around her neck. She gathered her seashells on the beach, meticulously cleaning each one in the water. The sunlight glimmered off the dancing waves and the golden strands of Kayleigh's hair.
"Mommy, these are for you," Kayleigh said after she had rushed across the sand and placed the seashells in her mother's lap.
"Thank you, Sweetie," Marty said as she beamed at her little girl.
A man joined them near the water, a gorgeous smile upon his face. "How's my girl?" he asked as he drew Kayleigh in his embrace.
"I'm having fun, Daddy. See all the seashells I found for Mommy?" Kayleigh said happily.
"They're beautiful," he responded as he placed his gaze on the woman that he loved. "And are you having fun, my angel?"
"Yes, but I am even more happy now that you are here," she responded.
He lifted her into his arms and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You are my world," he told her. "Shall we take our little girl to dinner... then put her to bed? I'd love to be alone with you."
Her eyes glittered in the sunlight as she pulled back to gaze into his eyes. "I'd like that very much," she responded.
"Let's go then," he said as he took her hand and that of the little girl. "We'll have dinner at the Wild Swann."
Kayleigh voiced her approval, running ahead of them as they held hands and strolled along the beach. "When are we going to tell her the news?" he questioned.
"I think we should tell her soon. She deserves to know," she responded. As the waves crashed on the shore, she could not help but be bombarded with a feeling of foreboding. Clutching his hand tightly in hers, she prayed her fears would never be realized.