Oh my goodness, you guys! Thank you so much for all the aaaaaaamazingly nice reviews on the last chapter. You all make this the most fun story to share!

MIDBlueBloodsFan- You have no idea how much your reviews mean to me. There's nothing I love more than reading a story that makes me actually feel the emotions, so hearing you're feeling the feels is the highest praise. Thank you!

Ruby-you share such encouraging words when you review, thanks!

Alex B Goode- You've been one of the first and most consistent reviewers from the start and I just want to say thank you for taking the time to read this!

K, Bookworm, YaleAceBella- I just love hearing people are so invested in this they are looking forward to updates. Thank you!

Snowflake-I'm sooo looking forward to writing Kate's next interaction(s) with her family.

Muses- I'm sure it's all been covered in PMs, but thank you again for every thoughtful review you leave. You generally spark a new idea or two with your comments (or reassure me I'm on the right plotline, lol) so thank you!

Chapter 15

Jaime didn't want to hear another word from Danny. He strode back toward the house they had grown up in, hoping Danny would leave this outside.

"What the hell was that?" Danny demanded.

Jaime gritted his teeth, then forced his jaw to relax. He was going to go inside and face the family to tell them Kate was gone again and he didn't need to deal with Danny on top of that.

Danny grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around to face him.

Instinctively, Jaime lifted a fist, but caught himself and, almost shaking with the effort, lowered his hand.

"Not now," he said to Danny, his voice tight with rage, loss, failure. Everything Kate brought back with her. "Not here."

"No, I think right here's where you answer me and tell me why you let her take off?"

Jaime just shook his head and opened the front door, hoping Danny would keep quiet now that they were back in the house with the rest of the family.

But then he wouldn't be Danny Reagan.

"We had her back! And you told her she could go? You didn't even try to keep her here!"

Jaime spun on his own this time to face Danny. "What was I supposed to do? Cuff her? Taser her? How do you think that would have gone, huh?"

Erin came out from the dining room, her eyes red. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"What do you think?" Danny asked. "This numbskull just sent Katie on her merry way, back to…wherever she's been."

Eddie came out and laid a hand on Jaime's arm. He jerked away from her. "This isn't on me," he shot out at Danny. "She's answering my calls, she's staying in touch. She's not in the wind anymore."

"So what? Her being in the wind was my fault?" Danny asked. And as he said it, it lacked the disbelief to carry it as an accusation at Jaime. The room was silent.

"No one blames you, Danny," Erin said.

"Yeah? Well I do. And if any of you had half a brain, you would too," Danny hurled out at all of them.

"That's enough."

Frank's voice carried like a shout to still them all without him raising it to that decibel. But the force was enough to shake through them.

"This family has been through enough without pulling it apart any further. We're not going to turn on each other."

"Grandpa's right," Sean said. "Let's go eat."

No one said a word. The sound of chairs being pulled out, utensils being picked up, meat being cut was the only sound.

"How did Aunt Kate get shot?" Jack finally asked, breaking the silence.

When Jaime didn't answer, Eddie filled in. "She's running with a pretty rough group." She glanced at Frank to see if he wanted more information.

"You know what group this is?" he asked.

"It's not one that's easy to leave," Eddie said quietly.

Silence again.

#

Carlos tried to walk the razor thin wire between giving Kate enough space to keep her from shoving him and Joe away, and being…whatever it was she was clearly needing them to be after whatever had happened with her family.

When Kate opened the door, the last thing he expected was the warmth of the apartment. Sun shone in through the clean windows into a small, but tidy kitchen and welcoming living room. Where the hallways and the lobby of the Bitter End was utilitarian and harsh, Kate's apartment was welcoming. It was a home.

Carlos exchanged a quick look with Joe. Neither one had expected that. The walls were painted a soft yellow, the furniture was old, but clean, with cozy blankets and throw pillows.

And then he saw the crib pushed against the wall of the living room, the blond woman who tensed when she saw Carlos and Joe, and a baby girl with dark curls who could barely walk, toddling toward Kate.

Emotion gripped him when Kate picked the little girl up, a smile curving her lips as she pressed a kiss to chubby cheeks.

And then a cold knot of dread. This was why Kate was stuck with the Dime Boys— first with Hux, and now Johnny and Wes. This was the leverage they had on her.

He cleared the thoughts from his face when Kate turned to him and Joe. He didn't miss they way she held herself so the baby was angled away from them, putting herself between them and the little girl. She stared at them, at him, and some of that brokenness that had been there after seeing her family showed too easily. She needed family and she was silently asking Joe and Carlos for that.

"Who's this?" Joe spoke first. He smiled easily at Kate and the baby she held, at the pretty young woman who was watching them cautiously from across the room.

Kate held the little girl tighter. "This is my daughter Frannie." She looked at Carlos.

Carlos forced a smile. This changed everything. He and Joe could keep Kate safe, could help her as they brought down Johnny and the rest, but this baby was too helpless. Too vulnerable.

"Hey Frannie," Carlos heard himself saying. It must have been enough to keep Kate from reading his thoughts because she relaxed slightly, even letting a hint of the smile she had had for her daughter come back.

The little girl squirmed and Kate hesitated, then set her down. She immediately ran back into the living room and tried to pick up a ball too big for her. Kate followed her and Carlos and Joe moved after her.

"Are these your brothers?" the blonde finally spoke. She looked to Kate for answers, keeping an eye on Carlos and Joe.

Kate shook her head sharply and the woman looked at her with concern. "It didn't go well with your family?" she asked quietly. Another head shake from Kate.

Kate gave her a look, clearly saying they would talk about it later. "This is Carlos and Joe. They're…friends."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at that and Carlos almost caught a laugh himself. He couldn't imagine Kate had friends just dropping by. He couldn't imagine Kate had many friends outside of this girl.

"This is Lacey," Kate said, introducing her.

She finally turned to him and Joe, crossing her arms protectively in front of herself.

"Hey Lacey," Joe said, his voice gentle. Carlos glanced at his partner, saw the way he kept his posture nonthreatening, the reassuring smile he gave her.

One side of Lacey's mouth lifted in a minute smile. "You kind of look like Kate," she said. "I thought maybe you were her brother, or a relative."

Carlos looked over at Kate again. He wouldn't have thought so if he hadn't seen her with her daughter. But when her guard went down, her face softened…yeah, she and Joe could pass for some sort of relation.

The little girl, Frannie, had given up on trying to lift the rubber ball and instead gave it an unsteady kick towards Carlos. He stopped it with one foot and couldn't hold back his grin. The little girl stared up at him with a challenge in her eyes that looked just like Kate. He crouched down and gave the ball a light tap with his hands to roll it back to her.

Frannie's whole face lit up and she kicked the ball back to Carlos.

"Nice kick. You going to be a soccer player?" he asked.

He was aware of Kate's eyes on him and willed her to trust him. With getting her away from the bar, the Dime Boys. With keeping her and her daughter safe.

He sent up a silent prayer that he could keep them safe.

#

Kate didn't know what had possessed her to bring Joe and Carlos home. No, as she watched Carlos with Frannie and knew exactly what had come over her. Loneliness. Wanting family. Wanting to be back with her family and knowing that wasn't an option. That they weren't ever going to meet Frannie.

Joe was looking at one of the framed photos on the wall. It was the one of Kate and Frannie asleep on the couch together when Frannie was only a few months old. He looked at the one of Frannie on a swing at the park, squealing with laughter.

"These are really good," he commented.

"Lacey took them," Kate said. She glanced at her friend, a silent apology for bringing home two men that Lacey didn't know. She couldn't imagine what Lacey was thinking—what she was feeling—right now.

Joe looked at Lacey. "You're talented."

To Kate's surprise, Lacey didn't cower when he turned his attention on her. She blushed and looked down at her hands. "Thanks," she whispered.

Joe wisely turned his attention away from Lacey again. He laughed at Frannie's effort to kick the ball by running into it with both feet. Carlos' quiet chuckle brought a warmth to Kate that was almost painful, it was so unfamiliar.

She took a deep breath. She could stare down Johnny, snap at Rico, get the shotgun from behind the bar and level it at creep in the bar without a second thought. And it took every ounce of courage for her to settle down on the plush area rug next to Carlos and watch him roll a ball back and forth with her daughter.

She studied his profile, his straight nose, the line of his jaw, eyelashes that were too dark to be wasted on a man. She could trust him. With her life, with Frannie's life. She had no doubt about that.

#