I'm Sorry Katherine

'Katherine, when I go, when I leave, I'm not coming back. You have to promise sweetheart, you have to promise me that you're not gonna come looking for me. I might come back one day to meet the baby, but no matter what, don't come to me. Wayne, he'll kill you, and James. Now I know you love that boy Katherine, but you need to let him go. Let him go Katie. He'll do you know good. I love you, and don't you ever forget that." Dianne said, heading for the door.

"No mommy! Don't go! Please ma, I can't do this on my own, don't go." Kate's said, her voice, cracking.

"I love you Katherine." Dianne walked out the door and got into the car.

"I love you too mommy."

When Kate got to his house, she hesitated. She sat in the car for a while, just thinking of what could go wrong. But finally, she got over the fear, she went to the door. Knock.. Knock.. Knock.

He answered.

When he saw her there, he just froze.

"James, just please listen." Kate said, hoping he wouldn't back out.

"Why Kate, why should I listen to you?" His voice was sharp.

"Please, we need to talk. I need you. You're my best friend Jamie, please." Kate eyes filled with tears.

She said Jamie. It was what she called him when they were little, before his parents died, before her parents left. They were Jamie and Katie, but now they were different, now they were alone, and now they were James and Kate.

"This really aint a good time." James said, beginning to close the door.

"It's never a good time for you, I know I lied, but I was trying to protect you, just please lis-" Kate was cut off by a distant voice.

"You coming baby?"

"Oh, um, I should, I should go." Kate said, slowly backing away, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Listen Kate." James tried to stop her.

"No, no, it's fine, this is my fault. I'm just gonna go." She placed her hand on her forehead and got into her car.

When she got home, the tears started flowing instantly. She was so upset she didn't even know what to do. She went to go pick up her phone and call Claire when she saw she had a message.

She listened to it.

"Katherine, its me, Ma. Now I know I told you to stay away, and you still need to, but I want to see you and the baby. I need you to meet me at the diner, tomorrow at 8 am. I need to talk to you about some things. I love you and miss you so much sweetheart. Bye, bye."

Kate smiled and began to cry even more.

"You're gonna meet Grammy, baby. Huh, you wonna meet your Grammy?" Kate laughed and cried her way to sleep, just holding her daughter as tightly as she could, just absolutely enthralled about the day ahead.

------8

It was 7:08 am, and Kate was finishing getting dressed. She had her hair draped loosely over her shoulders, and no makeup on at all; her mom thought she was prettier that way. She didn't know why, but she was beyond nervous about seeing her mom again.

"Ready to get dressed sweetie?" She said, placing Jamie on the changing table.

She dressed her in white fluffy pants and a pink button down shirt, with a little fountain of the tiny bit of hair, her now 10 month old daughter had.

When she arrived at the diner, her mom was already there, in the same table they always sat on her mom's breaks, years before.

Kate stopped in the doorway and just stared ahead, her mother catching the glance. Dianne stood up and smiled. Kate ran over and hugged her mother.

"I missed you mommy." Kate said, tears filling her eyes.

"I missed you too sweetheart. Now let's see this little one." Dianne said, beyond excited.

Kate set the carriage on the table, and picked up her daughter.

"Mommy, meet Jamie, Jamie, this is your Grammy." Kate handed the baby to Dianne, smiling brightly.

"Oh, Katherine, she's beautiful. She looks just like you, and she's got so much of James in her."

Dianne and Kate other smiled through all their tears.

"She looks like you too, Ma." Kate said.

Dianne laughed.

"Has she spoken or walked yet? Does she crawl?" Dianne wanted to know everything. She was so upset on everything she was going to be missing out on in this little girl's life, but she had to, to protect her daughter and grand-daughter.

"No walking, but last night, I was getting ready to put her to bed, and she said 'da-da'." Kate told her overly excited mother.

"Oh, I'm sure James was just overfilling with joy." Dianne was just holding her Grand-baby.

"About that," Kate trailed off. "James and I aren't really together."

"What, your raising this baby all on your own?"

"Well, I just told him he was the father a few months ago and he didn't take it so well." Kate didn't want to say anymore, considering her mother had thought they were raising Jamie together.

"Well Katherine, who else would be the father?" Dianne was getting worried.

"Well nobody, but he didn't know that. He thought I was dating this one guy." Kate didn't want to lie to her mother, but she also didn't want her mom to know what Wayne did.

"Katherine, you got pregnant when you were fifteen years old. Now, that's too young to even be thinking about boys. So listen here, I think I should take Jamie for a while." Dianne smiling face had turned serious.

"What, no mom, I'm sorry, but you can't just take her, she's all I have left." Kate was scared now.

"Listen sweetheart, Wayne's clean, no alcohol, drugs, nothing. He's being a very nice man now, and I think me and him should raise her."

"What, do you think I'm doing a good enough job Ma? What's wrong with her? Nothing. I wouldn't let anything happen." Kate wasn't going to let her mother just take away the one thing she had left of family.

"I just think it'd be best." Dianne was holding the baby very tightly now.

"Sorry, Ma, but we have to go." Kate went over to take the baby.

"No Katherine, she needs a good life, and right now, you just can't give her one."

Kate grabbed Jamie, "I love you ma." She walked out of the diner, tears falling from her eyes.

-----------8

Later that night, Kate was putting Jamie to sleep, scared to go to sleep herself.

All she could think about was not having Jamie. And she was scared that her mom might come and try to take her. She sat on the rocking chair in Jamie's room, trying to stay awake, but soon, her eyes just closed.

--------8

Dianne and Wayne slowly crept into Jamie's room. Wayne punched Kate across the face even before she had woken up, he wanted to keep it that way.

Dianne slowly picked up Jamie, and everything she'd need. Wayne took all the things Dianne had picked out, and brought Jamie down to the car.

"I'm sorry Katie, I love you." Dianne wrote on the note, placing it in Jamie's crib.

--------8

Kate's alarm went off at 5am, so she could get ready for school.

"Where's my little angel?" Kate said, walking over to Jamie's crib.

When she got there and Jamie wasn't there, her heart stopped.

"Oh my god, I fell asleep. Oh my god, where is she?" Kate yelled, tears falling from her eyes uncontrollably. She looked everywhere, and then, she saw the note in the crib. She read it, and fell to the floor, crying as hard as she'd ever cried before.

She stood up and grabbed her phone.

"Um, I'd like to report a missing baby." Kate said. "Yeah, I don't know, I live alone.

My mom came to visit me yesterday and she said she wanted to take my baby to give it a better life.

I fell asleep last night, and I woke up and there was a note saying she was sorry and she loved me.

Yeah, yeah I don't know, I don't know.

She didn't tell me where she was going.

What? That can't be possible. Jamie Skyla Austen.

No, that's my daughter; she must've changed the records." Kate couldn't stop crying.

"You can't help me?!" Kate yelled.

"Don't tell me you're sorry, my daughter was just kidnapped, but you can't help me!" She slammed the phone against the wall.

Kate wanted to fall to the floor and just cry her eyes out, but she held back the feeling. She didn't have time to cry. She needed to find her daughter; she needed to get her back. Kate ran outside and got in her car. She drove nonstop, just looking everywhere. She was crying so hard, she had to stop the car to avoid wrecking.

Kate just sat in her car, scolding herself for falling asleep. All she could think about was her little girl, not knowing where her daughter was. Not knowing if she was cold, scared, hungry. Kate couldn't even imagine not being with her little girl. She just wanted her back and, she didn't care about anything else right now. She couldn't stop crying, but then something came to her mind.

Her mom and Wayne were living in Oregon, and she knew they wouldn't stay there. Dianne had always wanted to live in Pennsylvania for some odd reason Kate could remember. So, that's where she was headed. It only took her a few hours to get there, considering she lived in New York. When she arrived, she parked where a payphone was, ran over to it, and called every single hotel listed.

Finally, she found it. Dianne and Wayne were in that hotel. She drove as fast as she could to get to get there, and when she arrived it only took a little bit of bribing to get the key.

She ran up to room 23 on the 8th floor. Kate closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened the door.