Chapter 13 The Future
Steve sat on the sand gazing towards the ocean, a gentle smile on his face and the sigh that came from him was one of pure contentment. He let his eyes wander across the undulating waves of water and sand until he was looking down at the small, sleepy bundle in his arms, Steven Nicholas Carter, his grandson who was now two months old and that day had been his dedication ceremony.
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Mark and Steve had awoken early that morning, both of them quietly excited at the prospect of the day ahead. The previous nine months had been a time of re-adjustment for them both. Steve had had to come to terms with the fact that, not only was he a father, but a father-in-law and a grandfather to boot. He and Nick had spent quite a bit of time together, Steve teaching his son to surf for which he turned out to have quite a talent, although Steve was a little disappointed that Nick didn't share his other love, motorbikes. Mark, as usual, seemed to sail through the transition from father to great-grandfather. At least that was what Steve saw. What he didn't see were the nights that Mark lay awake into the small hours thinking about all the time that he had missed with his grandson. How, if Amy hadn't been so noble because of Kathryn's death, they might have had that time. Most of all though, he lay awake thinking about just how much he missed Kathryn and always would.
Both men busied themselves throughout the morning in tidying up a house which didn't need it and waiting for the food that they had ordered to arrive. The dedication wasn't until 2pm, so at just after one Mark and Steve left the caterers busily setting up and drove the relatively short distance to the church where it was to take place. They, like Jesse, Amanda and the boys, were early so they stood chatting whilst waiting for everyone else. Next to arrive were Kathryn and her father, Tony. Since meeting, at Amy's grave, Nick and Kathryn had become, in fact, what they already were in blood, brother and sister. Kathryn had been thrilled when Nick and Jenny had asked her if she would like to be one Steven's godparents, along with Jesse and Nick's best friend, Jamie.
Steve couldn't help grinning when, on greeting him with a kiss on the cheek, Kathryn's first words were, "Is Alex here yet?"
She had met Alex a couple of months previously, when Steven was born, and had taken a real shine to him. In fact the attraction was entirely mutual and the pair of them had become very close, very quickly.
"He's coming on straight from work," Steve assured her.
Turning to Mark, Kathryn joked, "I sincerely hope that he won't be detained, Uncle Mark." She had taken to calling Mark that as no other word seemed to fit and she couldn't bring herself to call him just Mark.
Mark grinned, "I have told the whole of LA that, on no account, are they to have any sort of accident for the next ten hours, Kathryn."
"Good enough," she replied, a huge grin on her face.
At that moment, Nick and Jenny arrived in one car, followed closely by Nick and Elizabeth who were being driven by Jamie. Jenny's parents drew up a couple of minutes later. Of everyone there that day, they had had the hardest time in accepting Steve and Mark. Like most people, they couldn't help but like the two men, but they found the extended family idea a little hard to take. They were both only children as was Jenny, they had always had to rely on each other and they found it a little difficult to extend their thinking. Jenny knew they would get there eventually because they were good people and she loved them dearly but, in the meantime, she took care that they saw a lot of Andy and Steven without anyone else being there.
The ceremony was to take place in a small, very pretty little church not far from where Nick and Jenny lived. When he first heard about it being a dedication rather than a christening, Jesse was a little confused. One day, during a rare quiet moment in ER, he asked Mark if he knew the difference.
"Well, Jess," Mark began, "with a christening the parents and god-parents make promises for and on behalf of the child. Whereas with a dedication, they are making promises for themselves about things they will do for the spiritual, moral and physical wellbeing of the child. Does that make sense?"
"I think so," Jesse replied, "In a christening I am saying what the child will do, but with this I am saying what I will do."
"Got it in one, Jess," Mark smiled, "you know, you should be a doctor, you really pick things up quickly."
Jesse quickly picked up a tongue depressor and brandished it at Mark who rapidly disappeared, with a laugh, through the open door.
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Later that afternoon, back at the beach house, everyone commented on how beautiful the ceremony had been and that it was something they wouldn't ever forget.
Before they ate, Mark suggested that they go down onto the beach to take the obligatory photographs, a proposal which everyone agreed with. He was in his element, organising everyone into groups and clicking away.
"Okay, Nick," he began, "let's have one of you and Kathryn together."
Kathryn came to stand next to her brother and they both looked across at Mark, who was standing with his camera hanging loosely in his hand, staring at them.
"Are you okay, Dad?" Steve asked, suddenly concerned.
Wordlessly, Mark waved his hand at where Nick and Kathryn were standing.
"Whoa!" Steve's one word exclamation had everyone turning to look.
"What?!?!" Nick asked.
"I have never actually seen the two of you standing next to each other before," Mark said, "It is quite amazing how similar you look."
Even Tony, Kathryn's father, was astonished, "Well, there is no doubt that the two of you are related."
"For goodness sake, Mark," Kathryn said, "take a photo so that Nick and I have a chance to see what we look like together."
The resulting photo had pride of place in both Nick and Kathryn's homes for many, many years.
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At one point during the celebrations, Nick found Steve standing alone in the kitchen, where he had gone to bring out some more cold drinks.
"Steve," he asked, "is everything okay?"
Coming out of the reverie into which he had fallen, Steve looked across at Nick and answered, "Yes, I'm fine. It's just that, sometimes, I can't believe all this is happening and I have to pinch myself to make sure it's true."
"Tell me about it." Nick agreed, coming to lean against the refrigerator, "This time last year I had no idea who my real parents were and, now, I have you, Mark and Kathryn, not to mention Jesse, Amanda and the boys. Andy adores them, by the way."
"I know," Steve grinned in response, "and the boys love him. They see in him the younger brother that Amanda positively refuses to provide for them."
"I'm glad we found each other, Steve." Nick said, a serious tone in his voice, "There was always a gap my life and now it's filled."
"I'm glad," Steve responded, deeply moved, "Come on, let's get back out there before Jesse eats all the food."
"How does he keep so slim, "Nick wanted to know as the two men moved to join the rest of the guests, "when he eats so much? Has he got hollow legs?"
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The party was winding down when Steve asked Jenny if he could take Steven down onto the beach for a while.
"Hey, Pop," Nick said, reaching out for his son, "Can I have Steven a minute? Steve wants to take him down on the beach."
Handing his sleepy grandson over to his son, Nick Snr. watched as Steve disappeared down the stairs towards the sand.
Steve sat down on a small sand dune, not far from where he and Amy had had their fateful encounter. He looked down at Steven and traced a line with the tip of his index finger down the sleeping baby's cheek.
"Little man," he spoke softly, "you have no idea of the long road that your dad has travelled so that we can be sitting here together. One day, he will tell you, and I hope that you understand what a special person he is."
"His grandfather is no slouch either," came a voice from behind him.
Steve turned to see Nick standing there.
"I'm nothing special, Nick," Steve protested.
"When you found out about me, Steve, you could have thrown the letter away and not given it a second thought, but you didn't. Your only thought was to find your son and that makes you pretty special in my book." He sat down next to Steve and putting an arm around his shoulders continued, "I'm proud to be able to say that you're my father."
In a voice choked with emotion, Steve replied, "The past wasn't ours to share, Nick, but let's make sure that the future is."
For a while, the two men sat there in silence simply watching Steven, gently chuckling over his vain attempts stay awake. Tiredness finally overcame him and he slept, leaving Steve and Nick sitting in silence.
After a time, Nick spoke, "It is a shame that Amy isn't here today."
"Yes, it is," Steve answered, "but if she were still alive you and I wouldn't be here today. I would not have known of your existence and we might never have met. I don't know why Amy didn't search for you or why she stipulated that I should only get the letter after her death, that is something that will remain a mystery. All I do know is that we are together now because of her and that is something I will always be grateful for.
Again, silence fell between them as the regret that they both felt over the past lessening as they saw a joint future spreading out in front of them. The sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, turning the sea red with its warmth. As the first fingers of darkness began to creep across the sand, Steve and Nick stood to move back inside to where the rest of their family was waiting for them.
THE END
Authors Note:
The story is finally finished and I am very grateful for all of the very nice words that people have written. I know I have said it before, but they are always an encouragement and never fail to cheer me up!