Part 7


Catherine's body ached, but it was more than worth it. She and Gil had reacquainted themselves with every inch of each other's bodies last night. It was only 6 in the morning, but she hadn't been able to sleep. Smiling at the stack of tapes, she picked out another one and put it in the VCR.

"Well, our little girl's first word was 'No'," came the voice on the camera, as it zoned in on little Katie, chewing on some plastic keys. "And now she says no to everything." The camera zoomed in a bit more and Katie reached a finger out and poked the machine.

"Hi, Katie."

"No," Katie babbled in her little speech.

"We made a beautiful little girl," came Gil's voice from behind her.

Catherine jumped in surprise and pressed 'pause'. "What are you doing up?"

Gil sat beside her, pulling her into an embrace. "I woke up when you left the bed." He nipped her earlobe. "May I say how incredibly sexy you look in my shirt?"

She smiled at him and then turned back to the TV. "Do you think one day I'll be able to watch this without wanting to cry?"

He kissed her gently. "We're her parents, Catherine. We'll always be her parents. We made her, you and I. Yes, we missed out on some parts of her life, but think of how much more of life she has? And we'll be there, Cath. For all of it."
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Katie woke up the next morning and wandered into the kitchen. She was beginning to feel at home in this house. She knew where everything was, and everyone's habits. That was why she was surprised to find Catherine humming in the kitchen.

"Mom?"

Catherine's head whipped around and she smiled. "Morning, Katie. Sleep well?"

Katie narrowed her eyes. "Fine. You?"

"Great," Catherine smiled broadly.

"Catherine, I can't find…" Gil walked into the room, sans shirt.

"Oh god," Katie said, squeezing her eyes shut. "This is one of those moments when you wish the floor would just open up and swallow you."

"Okay, um, Katie…last night…uh…"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Katie begged, eyes still shut.

"Is it so gross that we made love?" Catherine asked, pouting, but with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Oh geez." Katie turned around. "Excuse me while I go back to bed. This is all going to be a horrible nightmare."

Catherine smirked as their daughter disappeared out of the room. She turned to Gil and ran her hand over his chest.

"Morning."

He kissed her deeply, hugging her to him. "Morning, beautiful."

She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest. This was how it was supposed to be. Mom, Dad and kids.

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After she had finished orientation at the college, Katie took a bus and headed to the government building of Las Vegas. She had something she had to do.

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Catherine snuggled up in Gil's arms. "While I like making love with you, we should talk."

He kissed her forehead. "What's to talk about? I love you. I want to be with you. I want to marry you. I want to make love to you. I want to make another baby with you."

She immediately stiffened in his arms. "What?"

He felt her tense up and he looked down at her. "Did I say something wrong?"

Catherine pulled herself out of his arms and got up, quickly dressing. "Katie will probably be home from the orientation soon. I want to know how it went."

Gil placed a hand on her arm. "Cath? You're avoiding me. Please tell me what is the matter?"

She turned to look at him, trying to rein in the tears that threatened to fall. "I love you, I do. More than anything. And I want to be with you and marry you. But…I gave her up. I gave her up like someone dumps a dog." She stood up. "I was pregnant with our baby, Gil. We made a baby together and I carried her for nine months. You can't imagine the bond I had with her. I talked to her, I looked after her. I went through twenty-eight hours of labour with her, because she turned around half-way. It was almost as if she was begging me not to give her up." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "But I ignored that. I handed her over. And here she is, accepting me as if nothing happened. Coming home as if she's lived here all her life. And when I watched those tapes…that should have been us. I should have been the one hugging her when she took her first step and I should have been the one hearing her first word. But I didn't. I've lost eighteen years of her life, and she's someone else." The tears began to fall. "And it hurts. It really hurts."

"Catherine…" Gil reached out to touch her, to hold her, but when the front door slammed and Katie called out that she was home, Catherine bolted out of his reach, furiously wiping her tears away and heading out the door.

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Catherine stood in the doorway to the spare room, which had been converted into Katie's bedroom. "Hey."

Katie looked up from where she had been reading and smiled. "Hey."

"You know, we should go shopping together. Just you and me. I mean, we'll have to get some of your stuff shipped over but you know…"

Katie looked at her strangely. "Are you okay?"

Catherine nodded, and brushed some hair from her daughter's face. "They looked after you well. You're beautiful."

Katie cracked a smile. "Well, everyone tells me I look like you." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you and Dad okay?"

Catherine smiled. "Yeah. We're okay." She shifted slightly. "What did you and your mom do together?"

"Me and Jill?"

"Yeah."

"Not too much. She worked a lot. She and Steve were doctors." Katie rolled her eyes. "That was their big dream for me. They wanted me to go to Harvard and become a doctor. Big disappointment when I picked UNLV from the two application letters."

Catherine's eyes almost popped out of her head. "You were accepted to Harvard?"

Katie snorted. "Not on my own merits, I'm sure. Steve went there, and he donated money every year." She lay back on the bed. "I wanted to make my own path. I didn't want people to have to do things for me."

Catherine lay back beside her. "Harvard, wow."

Katie glanced at her. "Would you have wanted me to go there?"

Catherine shifted positions, and hugged her daughter. "I want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted, right from the moment I found out I was pregnant. If going to UNLV and being a criminalist is what you want, Gil and I will support you the entire way. If going to Harvard and being a doctor had been what you wanted, we would have supported that too." She kissed Katie's forehead. "You're our daughter, and we will always love you. Not matter what you choose."

Katie hugged her back. "Love you mom."

Catherine blinked away tears. "I love you too."

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Part 8