A/N: Nat, my love. You are the sweetest – and the funniest ever. Yeah – your grandpa's safe – but thanks for mentioning him to me. LOL!!

CAGirl – hope you still have some Kleenex. LOL! Thank you, thank you, and thank you. You're making me sniffle myself. :) I'm so glad you liked it.

G&C'll get their honeymoon soon – don't you worry. I just need to check in with poor poor Katie and Colin. :(

Until 25! xox-G

Chapter Twenty-four

The sun was bright and the air was warm. Kate walked through the park, smiling widely. Colin held her hand in his, their fingers entwined. On the other side of her a small hand clung to hers. She looked down at the little boy, who was just big enough to walk. Her face broke out into a huge smile.

"C'mon, sweetie." She said in a whisper. "Let's go play."

She could feel Colin's eyes on her as she lifted their son, placing him in the swing. In seconds she had him buckled in tight. His big brown eyes looked up at her adoringly. She leaned down and kissed him on the nose. Singing softly to herself, Kate moved around to the back of the swing and started to push him gently.

She heard him giggle as the swing went back and forth. Kate laughed herself as she met Colin's eyes as he looked on lovingly. Kate didn't understand how or why, but it seemed the swing was going faster and faster. As Katrina kept smiling, Colin's face fell and his eyes flew open in shock. "Katrina!!" He yelled. "STOP!!!"

She heard him warn her but somehow, she just couldn't. She pushed the swing again, and realized it didn't come back to her. It seemed as if the swing flew off the chains and suddenly vanished into thin air, taking her baby with it. Even as she watched him go she couldn't believe he was gone.

"NO!" Kate screamed, her voice broken with sobs. "NO!!"

Colin was beside her in an instant. He took her in his arms and tried to shake her awake.

It didn't do anything to calm her. "NOOOO!!!" She sobbed louder. "He can't be gone. HE CAN'T. I want my baby!!!!" She screamed over and over. "I want my baby!!!"

'Shh. Katrina. Shh." Colin whispered as he held her tight.

She was shaking uncontrollably. Her voice was broken and she was still sobbing. "Bring him back." She pleaded as she clung to him. "Colin, go find him and bring him back to me."

"Katrina. Wake up. Please..." He begged her. "Wake up. Sweetheart, you're having a bad dream."

"He's gone. Colin. Bring him back." She said as she pulled back and stared into his eyes. "I lost him..."

"Shh. Katrina. Look at me." Colin held her tearstained face in his hands. "Look at me. He's not lost."

Kate shook her head violently, still caught up in the nightmare. "No. He is. He's gone. I saw it..."

"Shh. Katrina." Colin insisted. "Shh. Please, look..." He moved to place a hand gently on her stomach. "Look, sweetheart. We haven't had the baby yet. See? The baby's right here. He's not lost."

"He's not lost." She repeated as she covered his hand with hers. Her vision was blurry and her breath ragged. She still didn't quite believe it was true.

"That's right, he's not lost." Colin replied. "Katrina, please. You're so upset. Please. Take a deep breath and calm down. I need you to focus and look at me."

'Colin..." Kate whispered as she looked into his eyes. Seconds later she collapsed in his arms, realizing finally it was only a bad dream. "He's not lost."

"No. Shh. You're OK. You're both, OK." Colin promised as he held her close. "I'm here." He swallowed the lump lodged in his throat as he added. "Everything's going to be just fine."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh my God, Ethan." Lynnie whispered tearfully as she sank into him.

He held her close and whispered. "Shh. It's OK. Tell me what happened."

Lynnie sighed as she wiped at her cheeks. "I don't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning. When it first started this time, you had been smiling..." Ethan began as he ran a hand over her hair. Ethan pulled her closer and tucked her head under his chin. He leaned back and settled into the pillows, holding her in his arms. "Tell me." He prompted. He hated that she went through this alone – that he couldn't stop her from being hurt by what she could see. They had begun a sort of ritual a long time ago. Whenever he could, Ethan would have her explain what she saw to him, so that he could get a feel for just how bad it was.

Lynnie nodded and took a deep breath. "OK. Good things first." She said softly. "When it first started, there was a lot of light and I could feel it. Everyone was so happy. I could almost smell the flowers." She snuggled into him and sighed heavily as she told him. "Grant and Chloe. They actually did it. They got married."

"Wow. Really?" He said as he pressed his lips to her forehead. "OK. That's something good."

"Yes. It's really good. I'm so happy for them. But part of me..." Lynnie sighed again. "I know this sounds horrible but mostly it just reminds me that we're not yet." She muttered a bit bitterly as she continued to try and compose herself.

"OK." Ethan replied with a hint of a smile. She was the one who wanted to wait for Lia he hesitated to remind her. He would have married her years ago. That was a discussion for later. Right now, she was still shaking a bit. "I know that's not all that's bothering you." He said then, holding her tighter.

"No." She shook her head and then eased back to stare into his eyes. As always when she did that his breath caught in his throat. Her eyes so beautiful they were lethal. He could barely concentrate when she looked at him like that. She continued to explain. "The picture changed, like almost instantly. It went dark and I got so cold." She placed her had back on his chest and hugged him tightly. "I was like I'd never be warm again. It's horrible – Ethan, I can't believe it. It's Katie – and the baby..."

Ethan pulled her closer and felt her shiver. "It's OK." He whispered.

"No. It's not." Lynnie insisted. "She's sick, Ethan. I think that both she and the baby are sick. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of it. I had a vision her at the hospital – and it doesn't seem like it's the first time she's been there. And tonight – she had some sort of a nightmare. She's so upset." Lynnie's voice hitched and she tried to explain. "I want to help her Ethan. We have to figure out a way to help her."

He could see that she was serious and as always he wanted to do whatever he could to help her, to make her feel better. "OK." He promised her. "Then that's what we'll do."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Colin brought Kate a glass of water and moved to sit beside her. "Better now?" He asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"Yeah." She said with a sigh. "I'm sorry. It's so silly the way I overreacted like that. It wasn't real. Even as I watched it I knew that. He disappeared into thin air – right in front of me. That's not possible, Colin. I should have known it wasn't real."

"It's OK." He said softly as he took the glass back from her and placed it on the bedside table.

She reached for his hand and clutched it tightly in hers. "I know why I had that dream. I understand why it happened. It's because I'm really scared, Colin. I'm just so frightened that something will happen and..." Kate couldn't finish.

"I know." Colin replied with a nod, still at a loss. He didn't know what to do or say to make everything better. He had no idea how to fix this – even though he'd just promised her he would.

"It's a boy." Kate said with tears in her eyes. She pressed a hand to her stomach and smiled at him. "We're going to have a beautiful little boy with your eyes and your hair. I'm sure of it. I saw him clearly. You should have seen him. He was smiling and we were all so happy. We were in the park."

Colin couldn't speak; he was caught up in the picture she painted with her words. A son. He thought as he gently covered her hand with his. As he did, his heart was near to bursting with love. Imagine that.

Kate kept speaking, describing her dream. "I put him on the swings. He was giggling and laughing and I pushed him again and again. Then - all of the sudden - he was gone. He just vanished."

It took a lot for her to admit the truth. She had been trying to stay so strong to keep him from worrying. But she knew it was too late now. There was no denying she was scared. It wasn't something she could hide anymore.

"That's what I'm most afraid of." Kate said softy as she gazed into his eyes. "I'm afraid we'll never get to have that. Colin, I'm so scared that I'll never even get to hold him, let alone bring him to the park. I'm afraid that neither one of us will get that far." Kate began to cry again, fighting to catch her breath.

Not knowing what to say or do, Colin simply reached for her and held her tight.

She whispered into his shoulder. "I believe in miracles Colin. I know that one brought you back to me. And I really am - I'm hoping for another one – but I'm so scared. I don't want to be but I am."

"I know. It's alright." He choked out as he fought tears of his own.

"How many miracles are we entitled to?" She asked. In the next minute she sounded like a small child. "You know what? I don't care. I want another one." She heard the tone of her own voice and was suddenly ashamed. "God. I feel so greedy and selfish." Kate held him tighter. As she let him hold her her mind cleared and a thought entered her head. "You said you spoke to your father. You told him something's wrong – didn't you?"

"Katrina. I..." Colin began as he pulled back to look at her.

"You did. You told him. What did he say?" She asked her voice full of hope. "Does he know what's happening to me? Does he know why?"

"I didn't get that far. I – I didn't get a chance to ask. I blamed him instead." Colin admitted. He took a deep breath and ran a hand over her cheek, hoping to calm himself.

"Do you really think..." Kate asked tentatively. She had no love lost for her in-laws, except for Rachel. She loved Rachel to death. As far as Caleb and Livvie, it was a strictly chemical reaction. Her pulse raced and her defenses were heightened whenever they were in a room with her. It wasn't something she could even control.

"I don't know, Katrina. I wish I could tell you it's not true and maybe I was too hasty. The thing is - he knew that this was possible."

"What?" Kate gasped.

"He knew that this could happen and he didn't bother to say a word." Colin replied.

"How did he know?" She asked then.

"I didn't give him a chance to explain." Colin admitted, a bit guiltily. "I didn't even let him talk. Maybe I should have..."

Kate watched him struggle to figure it out. She took his hand in hers and spoke softly. "Now that your father knows – as much as I don't want to - we need to tell my parents."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Colin stared into her eyes. "Katrina, your father..."

"I know – he'll go crazy. As much as I don't want to upset them I think we have to..." Kate insisted.

Colin shook his head at her, suddenly beside himself. His words tumbled out quickly and desperately. "We can't. I told him I'd take care of you and I haven't. He trusted me. I promised."

"Colin." Kate sighed as she looked at him. "Of course you have."

He didn't hear a word. Colin grabbed her and held her tight. "I promised him I would and I didn't."

"Colin..." She murmured as she buried her head in his shoulder. It was amazing how quickly things could change. Now she knew it was her turn to be strong for him.

"No." Colin insisted, trying to convince himself as much as her. "I can do it. I'll figure this out. I'll take care of you Katrina. I'll take care of both of you. I promise you I will." Colin held her close and whispered over and over. "I promise you..."