Kate calls out for his name, but the only response that she gets is the echo sound of Rick's footsteps down the stairs, leaving her with the deep emotion of guilt and regret that she didn't fix it when she could. A very sad emotion creeps into her body, it feels like her heart is sagging down into an empty pit of darkens. It feels like this was the last time she had to get the chance to talk to him, and she missed that opportunity. The remorse of failure is very strong right now.

Her father notices very quickly what must be going on between them, so he places a comforting hand on her shoulder and opens the loft door to guide her inside. As they step into the space of the living room there are already tears streaming onto her pale cheeks, trying to control her breathing in front of her father. She wants to keep it cool in front of him, she doesn't want him to see her like that, but it's too hard to keep these buried emotions hidden for so long.

Without saying a word her father gathers her frail body in his arms, his embrace is warm, filled with reassurance and father's love that makes it even harder for her to suppress the vulnerability that bursts through her unstoppable tears. She buries her face against her hands, which are propped against her father's chest, her shoulders shaking in misery.

"How did I mess this up so badly, Dad?" She asks, her voice shaky and hoarse. "Not only I messed up my friendship – or whatever I had with Rick, but everything, my life. I don't even know what to say anymore."

"Shh, Katie you didn't mess up. I'm pretty sure whatever happened between you two, you'll eventually figure it out. It's how relationships sometimes work-"

"We're not in a relationship." Kate groans, pulling herself away from her father's embrace to pace around the space of the living room and run a shaky hand through her messy hair.

"May I ask why?" Jim asks, trying to suppress a sweet smile at his daughter's love-struck breakdown.

"Because I messed it up. I've been so selfish the entire time, I – I placed my stubbornness over Rick's feelings and he," She tightens her fingers around the roots of her hair, gripping slightly, sniffling and swallowing the painful lump that has formed in her throat. "He said that he regrets meeting me, I messed up this so badly that I made him say that and he's completely right. I make people's lives miserable."

"No, Katie you don't make people's lives miserable. You're just going through a hard time and – it's completely normal to make mistakes, it's not like they are unfixable."

"I felt so inadequate before I met him and when he walked into my life I couldn't stop myself from wanting more… and more of his presence, more of his silly jokes – I've never felt so good with someone else, before losing my eyesight and after that." At some point Kate stops talking and just stares into the blurriness in her eyes, remembering their moments together.

They might know each other for like two or three months, but these were one of the greatest moments of her life and even without the capability to see and witness them with her eyes, she felt what actual and sincere happiness is. She remembers about their moments in the cabin, the tree house and how they fell into the dirty puddle, the postcards that he bought her and she traced them with her fingers till her eyelids were closing in need of sleep. Their first kiss, how his lips felt on hers for the first time, the way his silky hair felt under her fingertips and all those moments that they had together and she didn't have the courage to value.

Before Kate met him, she tried to get better on her own, she even did yoga, but that didn't help the fact that she'll never see again. Only Rick's presence did.

"I've noticed." Her father's lips curve into a small smile, nodding his head at her.

"My head hurts so bad," she whines, rubbing at her temples and feeling the tears sliding in the corners of her mouth, tasting their saltiness on the tip of her tongue.

Jim's brows gather in concern, stepping closer to his daughter to place a hand on her shoulder once again and guide her towards her bedroom. "I think you should take some rest; I'll prepare some lunch."

"No, Dad, you're tired too, you don't need to-"

"Katie, I'm fine, you go get some sleep and let the head of yours blow off some steam."

Of course, she doesn't sleep when there are so many things running through her head.

Her back is propped against the headboard of the bed, a big pillow nestled in her arms around her chest, and a small pack of tissues in her hand. She's biting on her thumbnail uncontrollably, almost peeling off the whole layer of the nail on her thumb, while thinking about Rick's words back when they were in his car. She thinks about the deadline of her surgery, about the fact that if she doesn't see out for treatment by the end of the month it'll be too late. Her oncologist explained to her father that if her cancer becomes metastatic it will shed 'cancer cells' into the blood stream or lymphatic system and send new cancer colonies anywhere in her body. Eventually, the cancer will consume her entire body and begin to affect the normal functioning of body systems which will lead to organ failure and death.

Before it didn't bother her that much and she didn't find any reasonable factor to treat herself, but after today's events and the realization that Rick cares a lot about her and really means it, she considers on changing her mind about the whole thing.

On the other hand, there's always the other side of the story that she's imagining. She knows that during chemotherapy people lose their hair, eyebrows, eyelids and she fears that this might make Rick pull away and become too much for him to handle. Kate wouldn't blame him if he does, it's not a pretty sight to witness every day. He would change his mind about her eventually and search for someone who looks better, who doesn't have such a complicated life. Besides, she'll probably never get her eyesight back, does he really want to deal with something like that?

There's a knock on her door that interrupts the train of negative thoughts, her father suggests her to go with him to take a walk around the neighborhood and buy something from the store on their way back. She doesn't have anything else to do anyways, besides obsessing with her thoughts, so she accepts his offer and decides to clear her mind with some father-daughter time together.

Just as they are leaving the building through the doors, her father's phone vibrates against his pocket, so he takes out to open the text message that he has received. He usually doesn't check text messages in the middle of a walk with his daughter, but this time, something urges him to stop her on the sidewalk next to him while he reads it.

"That must be some kind of a mistake." Jim murmurs under his breath, his eyebrows scrunching in big puzzlement.

"Why? What's up?" Kate asks, curiously.

But then realization seems to be hitting Jim's head, making his eyes bulge out of his head in awareness. His hands tighten their grip onto the small phone, his mouth opening and closing without making a sound. Just to make sure he reads the text once again and finally manages to say something, "Katie, there's transferred money into my bank account."

"So?" She shrugs her arms calmly, stuffing her cold fingers into the pockets of her coat.

"No, I mean – I think Rick transferred money for your treatment." Jim's voice trembles with emotion and Kate's eyes widen, her mouth opening in shock.

"What!?" She cries out in the middle of the sidewalk, earning a couple of looks from people around her. "Wait, no - Are you sure this isn't about something else?"

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure that it's the writer of yours. It has to be. It's a large amount of money."

"Oh my, God," She rubs at her temples once again, feeling another wave of a headache cracking her blood cells and nerves. "How does he know your bank account?"

"Uh, Rick asked me about it two days ago when you were still at the cabin. He didn't explain why he just asked for it. I assume he sent the money during your time there."

She remembers when they had their first fight, also first kiss and Rick took a tour with his car around the small town that is near the cabin. He might have transferred that money through ATM there and then came back in the cabin without mentioning a word about money. He only showed to her the postcards he bought and nothing else. Why would he hide it from her? Oh, well, there are a bunch of reasons actually…

"That's why he went to town…" Kate mumbles to herself in realization, her lungs tightening in the lack of oxygen due to her high-stress levels. "Dad, I need to talk to him."

"Come on, let's get the car. Do you know his address?"

Rick stops thinking about the events from today altogether and decides to pick a movie to watch to clear off his mind a little. There's a knock on his door just in the middle of the most interesting part of the movie and he decides to ignore it this once, thinking it's someone from his neighbors, but then there's another knock and he jumps out of his seat on the sofa to deal with whoever stands on the other side of the door.

When he opens the door, he expects to be met with the sight of Mr. Robinson or some of his other neighbors, but instead, there is Kate, very sad and confused looking Kate with her hands hanging loosely at her sides, her eyes shining with something he guesses is hope? He surely didn't expect her to show up here and the fact that she's here alone, makes him feel concerned.

"Kate?" He asks with a hint of puzzlement and surprise in his voice, which slightly calms the nerves in Kate's bones, thankful that he's surprised rather than angry that she showed up at his apartment without making an announcement by calling him.

"H – hey, um, can we talk? If you want to, of course, otherwise I can just- "she's pointing her thumb at somewhere behind her, she doesn't even know what's there, but she's pointing at it because she doesn't know what to say or how to approach this conversation.

"Come in," he mumbles quietly, almost unreachable for her ears, but she manages to step inside and close the door behind her. "Did you come all the way here alone?"

"Uh, no. My father guided me to your apartment door and then he left." She replies, her lips pinching into a thin line when silence surrounds them after Rick says a faint 'Oh.', and nothing else.

She tries to remember the things she thought about on her way here, about the things that she so desperately wanted to talk to him about, but they are so much that she's forgotten almost all of them. Besides being so uncontrollably anxious makes it harder for her to concentrate properly.

"You transferred money," she says, licking her dry lips to moisture them.

Rick's brows raise up at the mention of 'transferred money', all of sudden feeling a faint emotion of guiltiness that he might have made her feel uncomfortable by sending that money. Maybe she's angry with him, oh – she's probably here to give them back. "Yeah, I guess I did. I'm sorry if-"

"Why?"

"Why did I transferred them?" He asks, standing in front of her, watching as she props her back against the door, nodding at him slightly. "I really don't know. I just thought that maybe if you have the money you'd change your mind, but I guess I was wrong. I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable... if I overstepped."

He really doesn't have a reasonable explanation about why he sent them to her father, maybe he was thinking at the time that her father would convince her to get treatment easier when they had the money, but now that he thinks about it, it's actually a dumb thing to do. She's never asked him about money, she's made it clear that this is not what she wants.

"Actually, I came here to tell you that I'm sorry about everything, the way I acted and hurt you with my hasty actions and selfishness. I know it's not enough, but-"

"I get it."

"No, let me explain-" God, she really doesn't know how to approach this one and make it better, make him believe what she's saying.

"Look, Kate," he stops her, holding up a hand and closing his eyes to gather his thoughts and form them into a sentence. "I understand that you're sorry, it's okay. I accept your apology, but that's not the point… the point is that I can't stand this anymore, being around you and knowing that your condition will get worse at some point… I can't, it's too much to be witnessing something like that, especially when it's someone you really care about. I can't watch you die, Kate."

"That's exactly why I'm here, Rick. To tell you that tonight I'm calling my oncologist and I'll inform him that I'll seek out for treatment and do the surgery as soon as possible." Her voice is barely above a whisper, her knuckles turning white from the tight grip she has on her hands to keep them from trembling.

His heart leaps out of the cage of his ribs, causing him to choke on his own intake of breath, his blue eyes widening in disbelief. Did she just… say that? Is he dreaming or imagining, hallucinating – is what she's saying real or a joke? "Kate,"

"I'm really sorry that I hurt you, Rick." She mumbles, bowing her head down in what seems to be a shame and he immediately steps towards her, needing to be closer for this important conversation they're having.

"Kate, I - are you really saying that, are you really going to... get treatment?"

"Yes, I've come up with that decision, I'm not changing it. Otherwise, what would we do with all that money?" She jokes a nervous laugh escape her mouth, causing Rick to laugh through tears that unexpectedly leaked from his eyes like a waterfall. They're happy tears.

"You don't know how happy that makes me, it's indescribable." He shakes his head, his voice hoarse while brushing off some of the tears on his cheeks with the sleeves of his shirt. "God, I'm such a girl right now."

"Hey," she murmurs gently, stepping closer to him to be able to find his face with her hands and stroke the sides of his cheeks, examining his jawline and chin with her fingertips. "Crying is not for girls only."

Rick hums sweetly, lowering his forehead against hers, her nose briefly bumping his. Kate feels his parted lips hovering over hers, their warm breaths ghosting around the space between them, their proximity causing her to trace her thumb towards the lines of his mouth before surging up onto her toes to close the distance between them. At first, Rick remains still at the unexpected connection, causing her to wonder if he didn't want that, but then these thoughts vanish as he responds by sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. This kiss is different from their other kisses, this time, they don't rush it, they just try to explore each other as if testing the waters, tentatively moving their lips and getting lost in the perfect sensation.

"Rick," she mumbles in between soft kisses, pulling away slightly to be able to speak without surging up for another kissing session. "Are you sure you want this?"

"More than anything, Kate. All of you," he whispers, lifting his hand towards one strand of hair that has fallen between them, placing it behind her ear.

"Yeah, but… the chemotherapy, Rick – I'm going to lose my hair. Are you sure you want this?" Her voice is so small and unsure; it causes his heart to clench in sympathy.

"I don't care, Kate, with or without hair you're always going to be beautiful to me." He replies full of honesty to her question, trying to wash away any traces of insecurity that bother her. "As long as your treatment goes well… I'll be forever happy. Just stay with me."

"I'm staying," she promises before lifting up her chin upwards to capture his lips once again, letting out a surprised whine when he places both of his hands beneath her thighs to lift her up in his arms and guide them to his bedroom.

That's all they need for confirmation that everything's going to work out well.

Next chapter is the EPILOGUE.