A/N: The next 2 chapters are a lot of Kate and Colin. This is the longest Mother's Day weekend in history - I'll tell you what. So funny that I didn't even plan on it and it's become an integral part of the story.

Thank PCGirl - it's all because of her. She asked for a Rali chapter and all heck broke loose. FYI - it's a busy work week for me my dear ones. I've got tons of chapters, but don't know if I have the time to edit and post. I'll do my best to get at least another one up before Saturday.

Notes about this chapter - first and foremost - please forgive my translations!! If you're German or Romanian please know that it was the internet that gave me those tidbits of info. As for the dish Rafe likes well - it was simply the most exotic thing I could find. LOL!

Hope you're liking the story so far. It's definitely fun to write. Until 32! xox-G

Chapter Thirty-one

He walked into the cabin, completely in awe. The lights were low, candles were burning, and there were incredible scents drifting from the tiny kitchen.

Colin gasped as he saw her there standing with her back to him. Her hair was gleaming in the candlelight, soft waves cascading down her back. Her feet were bare.

She wore a pale green dress made of some sort of soft silky fabric. It was nearly the same shade as her eyes. As Kate turned to face him he knew for a fact that he'd never seen anything more beautiful.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi." He replied as he set his guitar case down. "What are you doing here?"

"Making you dinner." She said with a smile.

"I can see that." He laughed. He walked towards her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her sweetly. His hand moved to rest on her cheek and he kissed her again.

As her eyes fluttered open she was half convinced that she was dreaming. When she saw she wasn't she grinned wider as she said, "Go ahead and sit down, It's almost ready."

"It smells delicious." He replied as he nuzzled her neck.

Kate pushed him away gently and turned back to the stove. "It's nothing very fancy, but it's my mom's recipe and she's a fantastic cook. I hope you like it."

Colin believed without a doubt that she could serve anything at all and he'd like it, just because she made it for him.

As he watched her serve dinner, the time and thought she'd obviously put into this meal staggered him and made his heart ache. No one had taken care of him in years. Colin felt awkward and nervous and completely undeserving of such treatment. He was used to macaroni and cheese and drive-thru dinners. No one had made him a homemade meal since…

His mind was suddenly flooded with memory. Colin was back at his parent's home - or at least where they were at the time he was 10. His father was playing in…Germany he guessed, or maybe it was Austria. Marta, their cook at the time, had always paid attention to what he liked to eat.

"Essen Sie, essen Sie meinen kostbaren kleinen Jungen. - Eat. Eat, my precious little boy" She would say to him with a smile. It was one of the few times he could remember that he felt like someone paid close attention to him and to what he liked.

He knew his mother had tried, she honestly did and he knew deep down, that she truly loved him. But her first priority was his father - always. Colin had learned long ago not to ask for more than she could give him.

Kate felt him leave her as she sat across from him. She reached across the table to grab his hand. "Colin? Are you OK?"

He nodded his head and looked into her eyes. "Yes. I couldn't be better." He looked down at his plate, inhaling the delicious aroma floating up from it. "This looks fantastic."

"It's pasta with chicken and tomato basil sauce." She said with a smile. "It's my favorite - so I thought you might like it too."

"I do." He said as he swallowed. "Katrina - this is amazing."

"Thanks." Kate blushed a bit. "I'm so glad you like it. I didn't know what your favorite food was so I just decided…" She trailed off, feeling like she was babbling. "What is your favorite so I know for next time?"

Next time. Colin grinned at the thought. For the first time he actually believed there would be a next time for him. He took another bite.

Remembering Marta he heard himself say. "I've always really liked German food."

Kate knew she was a pretty good cook, but she didn't really know how to make German food. "We never had much of that at home but you know - I could try."

He laughed softly. She was trying so hard to make him happy. "It's OK."

She was determined. "If that's what you really like I'm sure I can do it. Like my mom learned to make ciorba acra de miel, oh - sorry." Kate forgot that Colin would understand Romanian and explained. "That's sour lamb soup - for my dad. The rest of us can't stand it, but he loves it. Mom didn't know anything about Romanian food but she learned to make the ones that were his favorite."

"That's so funny. My dad likes that too." Colin said softly. "When he isn't snacking on someone else, that is."

Until he mentioned it, Kate honestly had forgotten. Whenever she was with Colin the fact that Caleb Morley was his father barely crossed her mind.

Suddenly, the topic of conversation made him lose his appetite. Colin pushed himself away from the table.

"Don't do that. Please." Kate said softly. She knew this was coming. It actually made her sigh with relief to finally deal with it.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't shut me out. Colin. We need to talk about this." She said, her voice shaking a bit. He was so lonely. He'd lived for so long by himself. Kate was desperate to comfort him.

"There's nothing much to say. My father is a vampire - and he likes it. He wants me to become one too. I'm not thrilled at the prospect. It makes me ill. End of story." He said bitterly.

She gently pulled him around to face her. "Yeah. OK. I got that. And I'm a vampire slayer. Colin. This isn't something that's just going to go away. We have to deal with this."

Colin knew her father was a slayer, but for the first time it dawned on Colin that she was one too. "You are - aren't you?" He said, shocked.

"I am." She said softly as she moved towards him and took his hand in hers. "And so are Grant and Becky."

Kate smoothed the fabric of her skirt as she sat down, bringing him to sit beside her. She held his hand tightly as she spoke.

"I remember when my dad told me and I didn't want to believe it was true. I was still young enough to half believe that monsters slept under my bed." She giggled. "Still, I knew he simply wanted to keep me safe so I began to train."

He didn't dare speak, just let her continue on.

"Grant is the one with the strongest of our gifts." Kate laughed softly. "It's the bane of my Uncle Cam's existence that he only runs track and doesn't play baseball. He's convinced Grant could be a major league pitcher, he can throw so fast and accurately."

"And Becky?" Colin heard himself whisper.

"Doesn't know just yet. He's training her without her really realizing it. To her - right now - it's just my dad playing games with her. "

Kate made him meet her eyes. "We're not to have the life my father led." She stated quietly. "He's been very clear on that. His whole life, I mean - before he had us, he sought evil out and tried to destroy it. It would devastate him if we chose that kind of life too. He's simply made sure we'd be prepared to take on whatever happens to cross our path."

Colin's mind was spinning as he tried in vain to process what she was saying. None of this made any sense. She should hate him, yet she gazed at him with love in her eyes. He didn't know what to do.

A feeling of calm came over Kate. To her, it didn't matter who he was or where he came from. Despite who his father was, maybe in spite of him, Colin was one of the kindest people she'd ever known. He deserved better than the life he'd been dealt.

Tears filled her eyes as she took his face in her hands. "My father didn't have a much of a life before he met my mom. She saved him, Colin, in so many ways. Please. Let me do that for you."

"Katrina…" He sighed as her lips touched his.

Kate was still incredibly nervous, but the best kind of nervous. She took a deep breath and said softly. "I can stay with you tonight Colin. If you want me to."

As an answer, Colin's arms closed around her, pulling her to him. As his mouth closed over hers again and again he knew he'd do anything he had to in order to keep her here forever.

His hands moved from her hair down the curve of her neck and gently over her body until they settled at her waist. Kate shifted to lie down, bringing Colin with her.

Completely overwhelmed, thinking of nothing but her and how he felt at this moment, Colin pulled back slightly and moved to slide the delicate straps of her dress off her shoulders, his hands running down her arms, circling around to the zipper in the back. Gazing into her eyes he eased it down, his breath catching in his throat as he caught a glimpse of what she wore underneath.

Her fingers fumbled as she took hold of the hem of the shirt he wore. Suddenly she needed nothing more that to feel his skin under her hands. She pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

Kate's eyes grew heavy as she tentatively reached out to trace her fingers along the smooth skin of his chest. She bent her head and repeated her actions with her lips, savoring the taste of him.

Kate wasn't completely naïve. She had been with Danny. Though they'd never made love they'd gotten fairly close. But she'd never felt quite like this. She shivered and clung to Colin, never believing she could get close enough.

Kate knew this was right. Despite all that was wrong around them she knew with all her heart and soul that she was meant to be his. Her heart beat faster in anticipation, giddy with the knowledge that she had waited until she had found the person who she was destined to be with.

Tears slipped from her eyes as Kate's hands moved to frame his face. "Colin..." She pleaded, her voice a mere whisper "Make love to me."