Kate deliberately called the school early to reduce the chances of Caroline having arrived, but as the phone rang, she still found herself praying it would not be the gorgeous blonde who answered.

"Good morning, St Andrew's, can I help you?"

Kate released the breath she did not realise she had been holding, "Hi Beverley, it's Kate – Miss McKenzie – I'm not feeling very well, so I won't be in today. Please could you arrange for someone to cover my classes?"

"Oh, you poor thing! Nothing too serious, I hope?"

Kate felt a sudden rush of affection for Caroline's secretary, knowing that concern for the baby was implicit in the question.

At least someone cares about us, she thought sadly.

"No, thank you, Beverley. I think I just have a 24 hour bug or something, but I don't want to pass it around the school."

"No, of course not. Bless you! Caroline hasn't caught it has she?"

Kate's stomach lurched at the mention of the blonde's name. Beverley's casual assumption that they would be together hit her like a physical slap.

"Kate?"

The concerned voice snapped her out of her daze, "No, no, Caroline's fine. I expect you'll see her later."

"Good. Well, feel better soon. Get some rest."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow."

Kate put the phone down and climbed back into bed. She would have to face the world sometime, but right now hiding under a duvet, just her and her daughter, seemed like the safest place to be.

XXXXX

Kate had always been one to face her problems head on, but even she was not ready to deal with Caroline so soon.

Having spent the morning snuggled under a blanket and waging an internal battle over her cowardice, the brunette reached a compromise with herself; she would leave the safety of her bed, but only to solve the problem of retrieving her belongings.

It was a plan with an added benefit, in that it delayed tackling her biggest issue - a certain infuriating blonde. Conveniently, Kate was choosing to ignore this.

Two hours later she found herself pulling up outside Caroline's impressive town house. She knew the residents would all be at St Andrews, so it was the perfect opportunity to grab some things.

As she began to traipse through the eerily quiet rooms, Kate found herself constantly suppressing a longing for the blonde, which was triggered by nearly every item in the familiar home.

A soft "Hello," as she entered the kitchen caused her to whirl around, dropping the few items she had gathered.

Her beloved CD collection hit the ground with an ominous crack, but what hurt more was the sudden realisation that she now found herself face to face with the person she had most been hoping to avoid.

Caroline was still in her pyjamas, complete with tousled bed-head that Kate absolutely refused to find adorable. She also stamped down the concern welling up inside her at the huge circles under the blonde's eyes.

"Jesus, Caroline! Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sneak up a pregnant woman?"

Caroline gave a tight smile, "Sorry. Although, technically I think you were the one sneaking around. Avoiding me?"

Without waiting for an answer, the headmistress held up the mug wrapped in her hands, "Tea?"

Kate's heart melted a little at the sadness radiating from Caroline and she mentally slapped herself.

For God's sake! How do I keep letting her affect me like this?!

"No, thank you," she replied, surprising even herself with the cold tone.

Caroline was trying to hold it together, but she felt her pathetic heart crack that bit further at her girlfriend's indifference, "Kate, please can we talk? What I said to you last night came out all wrong and I need to explain."

The brunette sighed, her shoulders slumping and her eyes dropping to the floor. She suddenly looked completely defeated, and for the first time Caroline felt a glimmer of hope that the younger woman was more emotionally invested in this than she was trying to make out.

"Please? I hate it when you're angry with me."

Kate threw her hands up in exasperation, "I'm not angry with you Caroline; I'm angry with myself! When I first told you that I wanted a baby, you made it abundantly clear that it wasn't something you wanted, but I was blinded by my own longing. And once you met Greg, I knew that you hated him straight away," she breathed out an ironic laugh, "You made it obvious enough."

"I didn't hate him," Caroline objected, but her sentence was cut short by a look of incredulous disbelief from across the room.

"Okay, maybe I disliked him quite a bit," she conceded.

Kate gave a curt nod, "But I wanted a baby so badly, and you knew that, and you said you would support me. I suppose I was naïve, but I just assumed that would mean us both taking a parental role."

She took a deep breath and straightened up, facing Caroline directly. The hurt she saw behind piercing blue eyes caused a surge of sadness within her.

"You were wrong to hide your concerns about this baby, but I was wrong too. I should never have assumed that it would instantly be something you wanted, just because I wanted it so badly."

Kate shrugged and stood looking so dejected that Caroline wanted to step forward and wrap her up in her arms. To absorb her hurt; but also, selfishly, to gain the comfort she always took from having the other woman near.

Instead, she carefully observed the beautiful brunette, trying to read her. To anyone else, Kate might seem composed; her hair was swept back off her face, which was still clear and bright despite being completely free of make-up, her gaze was level and her breathing even.

Yet Caroline knew Kate better than she knew herself, and she recognised the sadness in the slight hunch of her shoulders and the pain she was trying to conceal in her dark eyes.

No longer able to fight the urge to go to her, the headmistress began to close the distance. But as she got nearer, the younger woman fixed her with a look so apprehensive that her step faltered.

Instead Caroline reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Kate's ear, afraid that more direct contact would make her pull away.

She smiled sadly, "You're very pretty," she murmured, recalling the words she had so often said to her partner.

Tears stung the back of the brunette's eyes, "And you are magnificent," she conceded. It was the response she always gave.

It was no less true now than it had ever been, but she still gently removed Caroline's hand from her face and stepped away, "But I don't think that it's enough anymore."