~10~

"I must say given your affinity for the game of hockey, I thought I would've seen you in here much more often," Dr. Forrester said with a click of his pen as he gave Kendall a hint of a smile. Katie rolled her eyes at his joke. "Can't say that I'm not happy that you haven't stopped by, Mr. Knight."

"Anything for you, doc," Kendall replied as he slowly buttoned his flannel shirt.

"So, he's going to be ok?" Mrs. Knight asked. Katie slowly swiveled back and forth on the swivel stool she was sitting on. Dr. Forrester's eyebrows shot upwards before he moved to sit in the seat in front of his computer.

"He's pretty banged up, but it's nothing serious," he replied. "Nothing more than he could get in any hockey game. The scratches will heal, the bruises will fade, and it'll be like this never happened."

If only it were that easy to forget, Katie thought to herself, the tips of her shoes squeaking along the floor. Kendall's green eyes flickered towards her, as if he could read her thoughts. He had that same look of doubt she was sure was on her face.

"Thank you for looking at him," Mrs. Knight said as she got to her feet, hooking her purse over her shoulder. "Can I ask?" Dr. Forrester turned away from his computer, giving her a curious look. "Patrick?"

"Is he ok?" Katie blurted out before she could stop herself. "You looked at him before Kendall, right? I haven't seen him Is he-?"

"Slow down," Dr. Forrester replied, putting a hand up in the air. "Luckily, it's not anything serious. All the times I've seen him in here, this is the first where I didn't worry as soon as I saw his name on the sheet." He paused for a moment. "Normally, I don't divulge into my patients' well being but since these two parties are involved…just like your brother here, he's just gotten banged up. He'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks."

"His brother, Noah, on the other hand is being checked right now. A fall down the stairs can be pretty serious if not looked at right away. I understand there was some delay in getting here, but he got here soon enough." He looked at each of the Knights in turn. "With your group, you really have a guardian angel looking out for you. I won't know for sure until I get results back on his tests, but considering it's you all, I can see this all working out."

"Thanks again, doctor," Mrs. Knight said, stepping towards him, offering him her hand.

"You're very welcome," Dr. Forrester replied before pointing in Kendall's direction. "No offense, Kendall, but I hope not to see you in here again anytime soon."

"None taken," Kendall replied with a nod of his head. "Thanks again."

"Thanks," Katie said, her voice barely above a whisper. She followed her mom and brother out of the room, letting out a heavy sigh. She looked up and down the halls, listening, trying to see if she could hear where the Jacksons might be.

"Excuse me, are you the Knight family?"

Katie turned as a woman walked up to the three of them, a clipboard tucked underneath her arm. Her hair was twisted up into a bun, a pen sticking out of it.

"Yes, that's us," Mrs. Knight replied with a nod of her head and the woman gave a smile.

"I'm Robin Bilson," the woman replied, giving a warm smile. "I just got through talking with Mr. Patrick Jackson, getting the details on what had happened today." Her eyes then flickered towards Katie and she shifted closer to Kendall. "Do you mind if we come in here to talk?"

"Talk?" Katie repeated.

"Well, I would like to know if you want to press charges against-"

"Press charges?" Katie repeated, her eyebrows shooting up. "Against Patrick?"

"Miss Knight, he's been hurting you," Robin replied. "It's really all up to you, but if you'd like to press charges against him-"

"Would he go to jail?" Katie asked.

"Let's talk in my office, please," Robin said as she made her way down the hall.

She pulled a set of keys out of the pockets of her jeans and unlocked the door. She stepped inside, clicked on the lights and motioned for them to sit down, moving to grab a third chair that sat in the corner of the room. She set it in front of her desk and Katie sat down on the end with her mom beside her and Kendall beside their mom.

She felt her mom reach for her hand and this time she didn't shy away from the contact. She laced her fingers through her mother's squeezing as tightly as she could. Start talking, Lady. Don't keep me in suspense here.

"Well…he has been in a few fights in his lifetime, a few skirmishes…" Robin explained as she walked around her desk to sit in the cushy chair behind it. "If you were too press charges, he'd be put on probation at least. Community service of course, anger management suggested by Dr. Angelo, and more meetings with him as well. Given that I'm sure he'll be accepting of everything that'll be coming to him given how compliant he's been, it'll lessen his punishment for sure."

"I…" Katie trailed off, dropping her gaze to the ground.

"Would it be alright if we talked this out for a few minutes?" Mrs. Knight asked, patting Katie's hand.

"No, mom," Katie replied, shaking her head. "Ma'am...I don't want to press charges."

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, blinking as if startled at the sudden decision. "You understand that this is a case of domestic violence—"

"I understand, but…do you understand how hard it must've been for him to be out of control of his own actions?" Katie asked, her eyebrows lowering. "He's been through this himself. He always said he'd never hurt me…"

"Katie, he did, though," Kendall said to her.

"I know," Katie replied, shaking her head back and forth. "But, when we first started dating, I said that I'd never give up on him when things get hard, because he knew it'd get hard. I knew what I was getting myself into when I said I wanted to be his girlfriend."

She then turned towards Kendall, leaning forward to peer around their mother. "And he's one of your best friends. I get that you're mad, but, you know that you're risking this with Riles, too." Kendall stayed silent, his tongue slowly darting out between his teeth before retracting. "We all know that we're risking this. They're our family and we don't give up on family."

"Apart from dad," he said.

"No, Kendall." Katie shook her head. "I always wanted him back. You're the one who's been holding a grudge this whole time. So…what?" She threw a hand in the air. "Is it easier to hate him than to forget him and move on? Or do you 'hate' him so you have a reason to remember him?"

"I'll give you some time to talk," Robin said, gaining their attention, "but if you do decided to press charges, here's the card for their lawyer." She pressed on the top of her clipboard, sliding off a small rectangular card before holding it out towards the family.

Katie reached for it, giving the woman a nod of thanks. Robin nodded back before slipping out of the room. Katie tapped the business card against her bottom lip before glancing at it. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. The words in front of her started to shake as the card moved along with the tremors that slid through her fingers.

"What is it, sweetie?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"Their lawyer," Katie replied before showing the card to her mom. "It's dad."

"What?" Kendall asked, jumping to his feet. He reached for the card, pulling it out of his sister's hand before peering down at the small print. His features softened into a blank look as he slowly lowered himself down into his seat. "I don't understand. He's still their lawyer? What about Ronan?"

"He must've been their lawyer for years," Mrs. Knight said with a shake of her head. "Ronan had to take care of a lot when he adopted them, this must've…slipped his mind; to let him go. I guess."

"Maybe we shouldn't get him involved," Katie said, speaking up. "You saw how mad Kendall got, but dad…"

"He might actually go paternal for once in his life?" Kendall asked and Mrs. Knight elbowed him sharply in the side. "No, mom, think about it, I mean he might actually pound Patrick into the ground." He looked over at Katie and gave her a wink and a smile. "I'm trying to save my baby sister's boyfriend's life, here."

"So, you're not going to press charges?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"Mom, I don't think I could do that to him," Katie replied with a shake of her head. She bowed her head, a sly smile coming to her face. "He doesn't deserve it."

"You didn't deserve this either," she pointed out.

"Mom, I know," Katie said, removing her hand from her mother's to push her hair behind her ear. "I know I didn't. But, whenever that happened…whenever he got mad…that wasn't the Patrick I know and lo…" She trailed off a hint of a smile coming to her face.

"Do you love him?" Kendall asked. Katie turned her head, scratching at the side of her jaw.

"Honey, do you?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"I don't know," Katie replied with a shrug. She looked around at her bro Mrs. Knight and Kendall exchanged glances. "Yes. No. Maybe. I know I'm happy with him and more times than not he's his goofy, funny, stupid self, but, I knew something like this could happen. And people can call me stupid all they want, but I'm not going to just drop him because of this. For all I know, all these years we've been around him, around the Jacksons, something like this could've happened."

"You obviously haven't been on the receiving end of Riles' or Rhubes' punches," Kendall said with a frown, rubbing at his arm. He paused for a moment. "Or yours." Katie merely gave a shrug of her shoulders, giving her brother a sheepish grin. "Katie, if you don't want to press charges, or if you do…I'm behind you 100%. You know that."

"Mom?" Katie asked, looking up at her.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"I want him to be happy, mom," Katie replied, pulling her shoe up to her foot. "I know he won't be happy in jail. He…probably won't be happy in anger management either, but he knows what he did was wrong." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "He always said his biggest fear was to be like Robert, and if this is a way to get him to fully understand what's making him act like him…I think it could help him. He always said as long as I'm happy he's happy."

She then rolled her eyes, making a face, before twisting her mouth to the side in a smirk. "While I always thought that was completely corny and something Kendork here would say," she said, indicating her brother.

"Now I know you're spending too much time with Riles," Kendall commented and Katie got to her feet to slap Kendall on the head, but Mrs. Knight quickly threw up her arms to stop her.

"No, no more fighting!" she said loudly, gently pushing on Katie's shoulder to sit her back down. "There's been enough lately."

"Anyway," Katie said before sticking her tongue out at Kendall as she slowly sat down. "I believed him each and every time. I'll be happy as long as he gets help, but I really don't think he'll be happy behind bars."

"Sweetheart, you also have to wonder how this will affect everything if and when word gets out about what happened," Mrs. Knight said to Katie, putting her arm around Katie's shoulders. Katie stiffened slightly, her fingers twitching by her side.

"He's had to deal with a lot mom, I think he can do this," Kendall said, putting a hand on his mom's shoulder. "Especially with his family—" He looked over at Katie gave Kendall a warm smile, "and his friends by his side. Just like always."

"Thanks, Big Brother," Katie said quietly.

"You're welcome, sis," Kendall replied. Katie gave him a confused look and he shrugged. "You're not a baby anymore. You can take care of yourself." He chewed at the corner of his lip. "I'm sorry I didn't see that before now and I'm sorry I made all of this happen."

"I…what?" Katie asked.

"I asked Patrick to look out for you when I couldn't," Kendall replied and Mrs. Knight ran a hand over her son's head. Kendall's nose wrinkled slightly as he gave his mom a look that was half a smile and half a grimace. "I know I haven't been paying much attention to you—"

"Not that I always wanted you to," Katie muttered, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.

"You know what I mean," Kendall said to her, giving her a pointed look and Katie nodded her head, mouthing, "I know." Kendall let out a heavy sigh. "I know this move to California hasn't been the easiest for you, and I know I was so wrapped up with what I was doing all the time, but I'm so glad you were able to make friends out here."

"Can we all just stop placing the blame on people?" Katie asked, putting her face into her hand."I don't blame you, I don't blame Patrick, I sure as hell don't blame Riley. It happened and it's done. Ok?" She slapped her hands down onto the arm rests of the chair she was sitting in. She tapped her nails on the arm rest before putting her hand to her mouth. "Is it possible for me to talk to him?"

"We can find out," Mrs. Knight replied, stroking the back of Katie's head. "I'll go ask."

"Thanks, mom," Katie replied. She kept her eyes on the ground as her mother stepped around her, patting her knee as she left. As soon as the door closed behind her, she turned in her chair, draping her legs over the arm rest, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Go talk to Riles." Kendall merely looked over at her. "For someone who calls themselves a romantic—annoyingly so, by the way—you sure aren't being your goofy love-y self right now."

"Annoyingly romantic?" Kendall asked, arching an eyebrow.

Katie let out a sigh, twisting her fingers together. "You know, I always wondered how one guy's dating style could be different from someone else's," Katie said quietly and Kendall's eyebrow slowly lowered to join the other, a confused look crossing his face. "When was the last time we had a mushy brother/sister heart to heart?"

"Four months ago when Patrick first asked you out," Kendall instantly replied. He scratched the back of his neck. "Three months too long. I've missed talking to you, Katie." He shook his head to the side.

"You got a haircut, loser, stop acting like you're so cool," Katie said with a smirk and Kendall rolled his eyes before lifting his hand to touch his shorter, spikier, hair. "You've always been cool, Kendork. My cool big brother that everybody loves." Kendall slowly blinked. "Patrick has never had a girlfriend before me, but he always had this confident air that he knew what he was doing."

Kendall's eyes slowly narrowed. "Not like that," she quickly said before scratching the back of her neck. Kendall put his hands up defensively before motioning for her to continue. "He could always talk to and charm any girl. I always told myself that I wouldn't fall for anyone who was that cocky and full of himself, but after everything with them and Robert, I could tell that it was just an act. He was different around me; I mean, yes, he was still cocky and charming but…lesser so. It was like he wasn't trying so hard to put on that front, to put on a face like he does for his fans. It made me feel like he thought I was special or something."

"You are," Kendall replied.

"I know, Kendall," Katie said, "but it's different to always be told that from your family, and then to be shown it by a guy you're into." Kendall smiled, nodding his head. "It's especially different to have that feeling when a guy…or a girl—" she motioned towards him, "can make you feel that way despite all the crap they've gone through that makes it hard for them to trust people."

"But, Patrick trusts me and he loves me. Out of every girl here, he chose me. I mean, he could've chosen Lizzie, but he chose me. That's why this is so weird for me. I mean, despite the fact that he's my first boyfriend, I just feel like he could see me as this plain Midwestern girl and go after the next surfer chick that rolls by. Then I felt stupid for even thinking that, especially after all of mom's 'love yourself' lectures, and especially after he's shown me that the glamorous lifestyle is just something he takes part in, but isn't who he is."

"So, what does this have to do with different dating styles?" Kendall asked. Katie dropped her gaze to the ground, reaching for a lock of her hair near the top of her head, twirling it around her finger. "Kates?"

"I'm jealous of you and Riles," Katie replied, lifting her head and Kendall blinked in surprise. "I'm jealous that you just got each other so quickly, and moved into being friends, and then into dating, and you're still so…comfortable around each other." Her right eye closed slightly as she thought for a moment. "I see how you are with her, how you can make her laugh, how you can make her smile, it seems so effortless, what you do on your dates, and the whole time…I feel bad for saying this but…I can't help but compare us, and I know I shouldn't but—"

"Katie," Kendall said, interrupting her, reaching forward to grasp her wrist. "What you and Patrick have is special. You are comfortable around each other, and you can easily make each other laugh, whenever he makes you smile it lights up the room and—can I say 'cute'?"

"If you must," Katie said with a roll of her eyes.

"You two are cute together," Kendall replied. "I can see that he treats you with the utmost respect and I know that's why he feels so bad about what he did to you. That's why I was so angry at him." He tapped his hands on his knees. "Katie, Patrick really cares about you. More so than I've seen anybody, that's not me or mom anyway, care about you."

He was silent for a moment as he crossed his arms over his chest, his chest swelling as he sucked in a deep breath of air through his nose. He pinched the bridge of his nose before dropping his hand into his lap. "You have a unique bond, one that's hard for anybody to make with them given their past," Kendall explained. "And not just with him, but with all of them. My relationship with Riles is different from Rhubes with Dak, or when Rhubes was with Logan, or Noah and Lizzie and you can't compare yourself to us. They all need different people in their lives, different friendships, and Patrick knows you can help him with what you can give to him. Plus, you have it so much easier."

"What do you mean?" Katie asked. It was her turn to be confused.

"Do you know how hard it is for me to come up with all that romantic stuff?" Kendall asked, his eyebrows shooting up. "Us guys have to come up with all the plans and stuff, you girls just have to go."

"Or not go," Katie replied and Kendall nodded her head.

"That's true," he agreed. He let out a sigh through his nose. "It's a little hard to explain but…Riles has always been a romantic at heart, and it's a way to show her that I care. That I'll always care no matter what. If that's one thing I can do to make her feel like there's someone that's not out to get her, than that's what I'll do." He pressed his lips together, slightly. "Why do you look up to Riles?"

"Because…she's so confident with herself," Katie replied, dropping her hands into her lap. "She doesn't take crap from anybody, she's always looking out for people, and…when you weren't paying attention, she was." Kendall briefly made a sour face. "She's always listening to my problems, even when she's busy, her strength, her commitment to her family, a lot of reasons. But…I was scared of her for a little bit, too. Because of her quick anger, how for a while I didn't know if one small thing would set her off after learning she was bipolar-"

"Katie, she's more scared of herself than anyone else could ever be," Kendall replied, "and I'm assuming Patrick is the same way. I think that's why he took up kickboxing, to be honest with you. I mean, I could be wrong, but it helps relieve stress, of course self-defense, and with self-esteem." He clasped hishands in his lap."He's said time and time again he wanted to be able to defend himself and his family if something were to happen. I think though, that it helps with self-restraint."

"How so?" Katie asked.

"I could be pulling this out of my ass, and I could just be saying it to give myself some peace of mind," Kendall warned, putting a hand into the air. Katie motioned for him to continue. "But, if Patrick knows what he can do to hurt people…it'll give him more of an incentive to stop himself. So, why'd you take up kickboxing?"

"To spend time with him," Katie replied and Kendall nodded her head. "And…to defend myself in case…something like this happened." She said the last part quietly and Kendall let out a sigh. "We saw how well that worked out, right?"

"Don't do that, Katie," Kendall said, shaking his head back and forth. "Don't blame yourself. Things just slip away from people in times like that. You did nothing wrong."

"Riles would've fought back—"

"You're not Riley," Kendall said with a small laugh. "And you're not a fighter. I mean, sure, when it comes to the last brownie, we all risk losing our fingers, but that's not you." He lifted his fists up to his chin and mimed punching and jabbing the air. "You fight back a different way, like now, how you're not going to press charges. It'd be easy to give into what other people would think; he hit you so he should pay. But, you're not giving up on him despite that, just like you haven't given up on dad. I'm proud of you, sis."

"Thanks, Kendall," Katie replied. "You're the best."

"I know," Kendall replied with a wide smile. "But, so are you, don't forget that." He then wiped his palms on his jeans. "Now, I'm going to have to go into big brother mode for a minute." Katie rolled her eyes before a look of panic crossed her face.

"Please don't tell me you're going to have James follow me on our dates," Katie said, her upper lip curling slightly.

"Don't worry, he won't," Kendall replied with a shrug and Katie let out a sigh of relief. "I am." He then got to his feet, making his way towards the door, patting her knee as he passed her. "Now, I'm going to take your advice and talk to Riles."

Katie let out a chuckled, rolling her eyes as he left the room. Should've seen that one coming, she thought to herself. She got to her feet, sliding her hands down her jean clad legs before getting to her feet, making her way out of the small room. Mrs. Knight instantly stopped talking to the worker before turning towards Katie.

"He's right in there," she said, indicating a room down the hall. "Go right in, sweetheart."

"Thanks, mom," Katie replied. "I'll be out in a little bit."

"We'll be in the lobby when you're done," Mrs. Knight said to her, lifting her purse higher up her shoulder. She gave Katie an encouraging nod, which Katie returned before she made her way into the room that Mrs. Knight had pointed out to her.

She stepped into the room and found Patrick sprawled in a chair, a stack of pencils in his hand, throwing them towards the ceiling. Katie saw a couple pencils sticking in the ceiling and laughed quietly, instantly getting his attention. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi," he replied, spinning pencil between his fingers. "So…what'd you decide?" He leaned forward in his seat and set the pencils down onto the desk in front of him with a series of clatters. "One way or the other, I understand."

"I'm not going to press charges," Katie said, shaking her head back and forth. Patrick's lips twitched, and his eyebrows shot up. "I couldn't do that to you."

"Yeah, but I could do that to Rob," Patrick replied, letting out a sigh through his nose, his nostrils flaring slightly. He tapped the eraser of the pencil on his lips. "So you're not pressing charges. Guess I should thank you. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Katie replied, moving to lean against the desk in front of him. "So…what do you have to do?"

"Community service, pay a fine, therapy with Dr. Angelo still, and some of the doctors here for TBI," Patrick listed off. "I could go take anger management courses, but the only open place would be where Rob is and…I don't want to go there."

"I know you don't want to see him—"

"I don't want him to see that I'm him," Patrick replied, interrupting her. "I say Robert's not a bad guy because a part of me saw the real him from time to time. When things were going well, when he wasn't so stressed out, he was normal. He kept telling us that he was sorry, he said it over and over again, but the one thing that stuck out to me was when he said, before he went away, was that if there was one thing he'd regret out of everything was if he changed us the same way his dad had changed him."

He peered up at Katie, squinting his eyes slightly. He brought his hands together and started twisting one of the rings around his finger. "He's not my favorite person in the world," he said after a moment of silence, "but…I wouldn't even wish that on my enemies. To know that you influenced your kids in a negative way? I'm sure a part of him was scared of it being a possibility." He tapped his chest with his fingers. "I know I am."

"You won't," Katie said with a shake of her head.

"I hit my brothers and sisters all the time," Patrick said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's only a matter of time until it gets more than playful." Katie watched as he knocked at the side of his head with his knuckles as he let out an odd laugh. "Hell, I already pushed Noah down the stairs for fucks sake."

"How is—"

"He's fine," Patrick replied, waving a hand in the air. "Suffice to say, he's got a hard head like me." He rapped the side of his head a second time. "They've done some tests on him here, but want to send him to the hospital for CAT scan or MRI or whatever." He then ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, this isn't about me. How are you doing? How's Kendall? I haven't been able to see any of you, does he hate me? Does-"

"He doesn't hate you," Katie interrupted him, putting her hands up defensively. "Kendall? Come on." Patrick shrugged. "I don't hate you either and my mom doesn't hate you. We understand."

"You don't know how much that means to me," Patrick said, allowing a smile to come to his face. "But…I can't keep using my past as an excuse." He pulled at his hair, briefly making a face. "Not with you. I want you to know everything, but-" Katie waved her hands in the air and he trailed off.

"Tell me when you can," she said, moving to sit on the floor in front of him. "I never pressured you into it before and I'm not going to do it now." Patrick nodded his head, shifting his gaze from her. "What?"

"INK magazine…I don't want to lose that opportunity," Patrick replied, "and I still have that creative writing assignment due…I think I can kill two birds with one stone with it…as long as I have your permission."

"My permission for what?" Katie asked quietly.

"I want to propose the idea of being a guest writer for them for this article," Patrick replied. "I want to do a non-fiction piece explaining everything; from Aus to here, everything I talk about with Dr. Angelo and…you." Katie blinked in surprise, taken aback for a moment. "If you don't want me to talk about this, I understand, but I want to talk about you and how awesome you've been."

"I don't know," Katie replied, shaking her head back and forth. "I…I think…"

She was already getting enough attention just by dating him, but for people to know about this? Chris Brown has barely recovered, and while she had the inkling that Patrick could get off slightly due to his past, he knew that there would always be those people who would forever hate him. He didn't deserve a continued lifetime of hate.

At the same time, he was trying to make an effort to be more open, to move on and to face everything that life threw at him head on. She knew that it'd be best for him to admit everything himself instead of having it drudged up later on, but…

"I get it," Patrick replied with a nod of his head. "I could just…get everything out on paper and then decide what I should cut out." Katie nodded her head. "But, there's one thing I want to know, one way or another. Are we…are you still with me…or…?"

Katie chewed her bottom lip. "You know how much I care about you," she said quietly and Patrick slumped back in his seat. "I just…I don't want to be scared to be around you all the time."

"I scared you?" Patrick asked, his voice cracking. He moved a hand over his mouth. "Oh, my God."

"I think we both know this will help," Katie said quietly. "If you focus on everything you need to get better…" She bobbed her head from side to side, her face burning.

"Katie, it's inpatient treatment," Patrick said in a low voice. He gave an odd laugh. "You might as well have stuck me behind bars." He sucked in a shaky breath of air. "I don't know how long that'll be. I don't know when I'll be able to see you or my family or…" His bottom lip trembled and Katie saw him for who he truly was; a scared little boy. She knew he hated being in doctor's offices or hospitals, but to be there by himself? "Katie, I'm scared."

"Get better," Katie said, shuffling closer, reaching for his hands, "and then come back to me, ok? Whether it's just as friends or…more, I'm not letting you go." She snorted. "Not after how long I worked to get your attention." Patrick laughed.

"You didn't have to work hard, but I appreciated the effort," he said to her, removing a hand from hers to use the pad of his thumb to brush the unshed tears from her eyes. "More than you know."

"Shut up!" Katie said, using her free hand to punch his leg. Patrick laughed with her for a moment before his smile faded slightly.

"You'll wait for me?" he asked, bowing his head, a blush coming to his cheeks.

"Boofhead," Katie said, using her best Australian accent, and Riley-like roll of her eyes as she shook her head. Patrick laughed. "All the work it took to get you, like I'm going to give up that easily. Have you ever seen me play field hockey? I'm a pretty good defender."

"Good to know," Patrick replied. He paused for a moment, his hands twitching for a moment before he reached for his shirt collar. He reached underneath it, grabbing the chain from around his neck and pulled it above his head, the dog tags at the end clanking together. "Here, I want you to have these."

Before Katie could say anything, he turned her hand over and placed the dog tags into her hand, closing her fingers around it. "Keepsake or, something to remember me by or…whatever," he said to her. "It was my dad's and my Daddy Teak's." He indicated each of the two tags separately. "We all got a copy when we turned sixteen; Julius, Noah, me…sucks that Sydney has to wait three more years, but-"

Katie got to her feet, kissing him. "I'm going to miss you," she said quietly as she pulled back away from him.

"I'm going to miss you, too," Patrick replied, blinking slowly.

A/N: Only one chapter left. I've been really enjoying writing this story. I'm a little annoyed with myself that it took this long to do a 10 chapter story, but hey, life gets in the way at times.

For those of you who read We Are, I'm currently thinking up plot points for a companion story or a sequel whichever way you want to look at it. I have a whole bunch of different ideas for fics I'm excited to do, that I'm stuck on which to do next. After finishing this, I'm going to do a couple of one-shots to give me some time to decide.

-Rhuben