11

"I told you not to call me." He was angry. She could easily tell that.

"I didn't know what else to do."

"Anything but calling me!"

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you."

"You do not understand this. You really can't!"

"Please! This is important!" she started to beg him to listen to her. She did not know what to do if he would just ignore her and hang up.

"I don't want to hear it." he said getting annoyed. She really did not give up.

"She's just broke down. She can't handle any of this any longer. Please, I tried everything I could but she's not getting over it." She practically could hear him think over what she'd just said. "She can't even look at her own child!"

That was what finally got his full attention.

"Her child?" she heard him ask. She nodded but then realized he can't see her.

"Yes. Her child." If she would be with him right now she'd seen tears streaming down his cheeks. "You have to come back! Please, Ari. For the sake of your child!"

*falling in love with a vampire* *falling in love with a vampire*

The day Kate had said she loved Ari was the day when he recognized he had to do something. It wasn't that he didn't love her. They now were together for almost one year and if you are with someone that long it is obvious that you don't just like him as a friend. But they never said those three words. Not because they don't wanted to but they both knew that actually it was wrong what they were doing and they were afraid of admitting their feelings because if someone found out they would lose each other.

But now the thing Ari had feared had happened. He wanted to say he loved her back but it wouldn't help the trouble they were in if their relationship became public. So he decided he had to do something. He never wanted to hurt her but something's gotta change. They couldn't be together anymore – they never should've been in the first place. It was only a matter of time until it wouldn't have been a secret anymore.

*falling in love with a vampire* *falling in love with a vampire*

"I don't want see anyone. Is it that hard to get that?" Kate said when she heard the door open. She did not even turn her head to see who's there.

"Maybe you want to make an exception for the two of us." a very familiar voice stated from behind her.

Turning towards the door, towards the voice she saw Ari. In his arms there was a beautiful little infant, wrapped in a pink blanket. She was like a younger copy of her mother. Only her eyes and her lightly dark skin showed the relation to the man who held her. The little girl reached for her father's hand and grabbed one of his fingers and he smiled at her.

"You're not here!" Kate said turning her back at him and staring out of the window again. That's what she was doing since she came here.

"I am right here, Caitlyn!"

"You can't be. You're dead!" Kate started crying. She did not turn her head back at him, hoping her hallucination would soon leave her alone. But it did not.

"No my love I am not dead. I am so sorry, but making you believe I was dead was the only way I could get the strength to leave you."

Slowly he walked over to her bed. He was not in a hurry. He did not want to rush her. He would give her all the time she'll need to believe this and trust in him again. And he really hoped she would trust him again some time because he planned to spend the rest of his life with her and their daughter.

"Why did you even have to leave?" she almost yelled, still in tears.

"I had to. It would have become too dangerous for the two of us eventually. I almost shot you once just to not blow up our covers."

"You really think I'd have cared about this then?" She did not plan on making this easy for him.

"No, I do not think so. That is the reason why I had to do it this way. Because you would not have let me go."

He was carefully laying the little girl in Kate's arms and she held her. She did not lower her gaze to watch her but she'd improved a lot. Before Ari no one was allowed to even speak about the infant let alone take her into Kate's room.

"Look at her. Take one look at your daughter!" Ari said to her looking deep in her eyes.

"She is beautiful!" Kate said after actually looking at the girl.

She could not believe she almost had made the biggest mistake of her life. She almost never looked at her daughter because she was afraid. Afraid of either she could not be able to love her or she would love her way too much, in the way she loved the girl's daddy. And both could have destroyed her; killed her inside.

But the joy of finally holding her daughter in her arms did not distract her from the fact that something was wrong. The man standing beside her wasn't supposed to be there. He was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be the love of her life which she lost months ago.

But still here he was watching the two of them with a smile.

She had accepted the fact that he really was alive soon after he entered the room. He must have played with her; must have faked his death. She just couldn't understand why he would've done this. And she couldn't understand why he would come back now. How could he even know she was pregnant? That she was pregnant with his child? Would he really leave her but return to be there for his family?

"How did you even know I was having a child? Let alone your child?" Kate demanded, not taking her eyes of off her daughter. Now that she'd finally let her in she couldn't get enough of her.

"Ziva called me today and told me about your condition" He had a smile on his lips as he watched his daughter reach for him with one of her tiny hands.

"So you two set me up?"

"She knew where I was and how to reach me but I made her promise not to do it ever. No matter what circumstances. And she never broke her promise until today" Right now she was not sure what to think about Ziva. She had forgiven her leaving, even understood it, but this was different. "Please don't hate her. If anyone you need to hate me"

"Don't worry, I do!"

She still really truly loved him. That hadn't changed at all. If anything she just loved him more than ever. Deep in her heart she already knew she would gladly let him back into her life but still she had to get answers to a lot of questions. And before she would not have those she would at least pretend she did not trust in him fully.

She knew she was being naïve falling for him again that quick but she couldn't help but do it. She'd risked her job and her freedom by loving him and being with him and he'd done the same for her without ever complaining.

"What's her name?" he whispered so to not wake her up.

"Leah Isabel" And Kate realized that he knew she'd forgiven him, that she thought about him, and that she still loved him. Because he once told her he'd love the name Isabel and moreover she'd chosen another Hebrew name in memory of him.

She was the one taking his hand and lacing her fingers through his and she was the one pulling him down to her so he could lie on the bed beside her. He was the one claiming her lips with his own in a tender kiss and he was the one pulling her against his chest and wrapped his arm around both of them.

That was how Tony and Ziva found them a few hours later, all three sleeping in the hospital bed. Ziva had told him everything about Kate and her brother and even though he had been talking about betrayal first, Tony really wasn't that surprised after all.

Leah was the first one to wake up and sleepily blinking her eyes a few times before fixing them on the two people she hadn't ever seen. Her shift in position woke Kate and Ari and they were greeted with big smiles.

"Did you-" Kate started but was cut off by Ziva who walked over to her bed.

"He knows. He's not happy but he sends his congratulations" the Israeli shifted her little niece from her left to her right arm and smiled at her.

"How bad is it?" Ari wanted to know.

"Honestly? He freaked out completely and said he has to talk to you"

After about an hour of passing along the newborn and talking Ziva said her goodbye, Tony promising to follow soon. He just needed some more minutes with Kate, after all they had been best friends for a very long time now and he once promised her to be there for her.

"I love you, Kate" Ari smiled, just as Tony made his way to the door.

"I love you, too. And it's Caitlyn"

"What? I just confess my love for my beautiful girlfriend and do not get the privilege of calling you Kate?" he asked fake shocked but still a bit confused.

"The privilege is her letting you call her Caitlyn. Believe me!" Tony grinned before leaving the two alone with their adorable daughter.

*falling in love with a vampire* *falling in love with a vampire*