A/N: When you research for writing you come up with bizarre facts…
In looking for baby names I thought it would be funny just to add Oscar in the mix – as an homage to BG's long lost B and B character.
And when I did I found out the name means "accurate spearsman". LOL! Kinda like a slayer – no?
Anyway – girlies, Katrina's still with us – for now. See what happens next and LOL! Poor Kyle.
Until 64! xox-G
Chapter Sixty-three
"Don't you dare." Colin's voice was shaking. "Don't you dare say goodbye to me."
Kate fought to open her eyes again. "I'm sorry."
"You better be. Wake up Katrina." He demanded as he stood beside her and held her hand tightly.
"I'm just so tired." She whispered, her eyes closing again.
"You've slept enough." He said almost bitterly. "Katrina. Stay with me." Colin turned towards a stunned Livvie. "Mom. Go get Chris. And then, I want you to tell them to bring the baby in here."
She almost wept as she saw the desperation on her son's face. "Colin. Do you think that's the wise thing to do?" Livvie asked.
"Don't argue with me please, just do it!" Colin said sharply as he turned back to Kate. "Katrina. Listen to me. You're not going anywhere."
Knowing there was no reasoning with him at the moment, Livvie took a deep breath and moved into the hallway to do what he asked.
"Colin…" Kate said weakly, her eyes fluttering open again.
"That's it." He replied, his voice softening as he moved to sit on the bed beside her. "Shh. OK. Just stay here with me. You can't leave now." He reached up to run his fingers through her hair. "C'mon Katrina. There's too much to do. Do you realize our son doesn't even have a name yet?"
"Colin…" Kate sighed. "Why haven't you named him?"
He blinked back tears and gave her a smile. "Because you hate all the names I like. I'm not getting in trouble like that with you. We need to decide together."
"He needs a name." Kate said softly. "You have to name him Colin."
"I will." Colin promised. His heart fell when he watched her eyes close again. "We will. Come on, stay with me. I'll give you some choices right now and you tell me what you think. OK?"
She didn't think she had the strength but she heard herself agree. "OK." She whispered.
"Here we go. First up – Casimir." He almost smiled as he said the name.
"No, Colin." Despite her condition she sounded exasperated at him. "That sounds like a sweater."
"Hate that one don't you? OK, What about Oscar?" He had to keep her talking for as long as he could.
"No." She said then, her voice still so faint he had to strain to hear her. "He'll always be a grouch."
"Cantaloupe?" Colin laughed softly. "Pineapple?"
"No. Stop it. No foods Colin." Kate smiled in spite of it all.
"I guess we'll have to keep going then," He said, knowing that he'd offer thousands of names to keep her with him. "Polonius?"
"Hamlet's father?" Kate said as she fought to stay with him. She would miss this most of all, she knew. The goofy way he could be. It was something that no one else really knew about him. Only her. She knew him best of all. "What about Raleb?" She said then, struggling to hold on but fading quickly. He eyes closed again. "You know, we could name him after both our fathers…"
Colin smiled and gave her hand another squeeze. Where were they? He wondered as he glanced at the door, hoping he could keep her with him long enough.
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Ella sat at the table, an array of markers and crayons spread before her. Quinn had taken Aidan and Ty out to play but she didn't want to. She had to make something for Katie.
Katie always loved her pictures. She didn't just put them up on the refrigerator. She framed one once and even put it on the wall. She said it was the prettiest thing she ever saw.
Ella needed someone to talk to. Usually she'd talk to Becky or Kate but they were still sick. She would talk to her mom and dad or Grant, but they were all busy.
Ella looked over at Billie who was working behind the counter. Sometimes she forgot that she really wasn't Ty's mom. She acted like a mom. She gave him hugs and kisses like her mom gave her and she yelled at him sometimes when he wasn't behaving. But Billie was his aunt really and she would know. Because Ella knew she was an aunt now too.
She placed the cap back on her marker carefully and placed it down on the table. Clutching her drawing in her hands she tentatively made her way over to where Billie was standing.
"Billie?" She said softly.
Her head shot up and she looked over at the little girl, her eyes kind as they met Ella's own wide green ones.
"Yes sweetie?" She said with a smile. "Are you finished with your picture?"
"Uh huh." Ella nodded. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Billie nodded. She could see that Ella was very serious about whatever it is she wanted to talk about. She was incredibly touched that she would trust her. "Come here." She prompted as she bent down to scoop Ella up and set her on the counter. Looking into her eyes she asked, "What's up?"
"Ty's not your kid – right? I mean, you didn't carry him in your tummy like Kate did with her baby."
Oh gosh. Billie blinked nervously. She was hoping that Ella wasn't going to ask her specifics of the birds and bees. That she wasn't ready for. She'd had a hard enough time explaining it to Ty and even then she was very vague about it all. Summoning her courage, she nodded and replied, "No. That's right. I didn't."
"But you took care of him when he was a baby right? Because his mom was your sister and she died. You're his aunt." Ella asked then.
"That's right." Billie said softly.
"I don't know if I can do it." Ella whispered. "I don't have any money. But I have some room in my room. I have Becky's old cradle that she used for her dolls…"
Billie blinked back tears as she realized what Ella was saying. "Oh sweetheart."
Ella stared up at her and sniffled. "I know I don't play with dolls a lot but I can learn. Can you teach me?"
Billie fought to find her voice. She couldn't believe the brave little girl sitting in front of her. "Ella, honey. I know she's very sick but Kate's still here. You don't have to worry. I had to take care of Ty because my sister and my mom and dad were gone and so was Ty's daddy. He had no one to take care of him but me. And I was much, much older than you. Sweetie, if something happens to Katie – and listen to me – that's a BIG IF no one expects you to take care of her baby."
"But I'd want to try." Ella insisted. "I could love him lots. Even though they won't let me see him I love him already."
Billie knew everyone had been trying to protect Ella, but it seemed it was backfiring. She'd make sure they got her over to the hospital soon to help ease her mind a bit.
"I don't doubt it Ella. You'll be the best aunt ever, you know that?" Billie said as she gave her a hug. "I'll tell you what. When the boys get back you and I can go bring Kate that picture and you can see the baby. Would you like that?" She asked as she pulled back and ran a hand over her curls.
"I can go? I can see her and him?" Ella's eyes opened wide and her face lit up with hope.
She knew that once Rafe and Alison knew how Ella had been feeling they'd approve. "Sure." Billie nodded as she hugged her again. "We aunts – we've got to stick together."
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He stood next to her bed, with roses in hand, thankful she was asleep again. He tried to remember what Grant had told him she wanted.
Hold her hand…
Kyle looked frantically and found a chair across the room. He fought to move it without waking Becky. He finally set it down and moved to sit beside her balancing the huge bouquet on his lap as he reached for her. His own palms were sweaty as he took her hand in both of his.
Taking a deep breath, he started to speak. "Becky? I know you said you wanted me to go. And I will if that's what you really want. But if you wouldn't mind too much I'd really like to stay here."
He continued to babble, still not sure what to say. "It's nice here – vampires notwithstanding. It's pretty normal and it's peaceful. I mean - I'm from a place where mass drinking and public nudity is normal."
Real romantic, Kyle. He admonished himself. Sighing, he cleared his throat and tried again.
Talk about her – not Mardi Gras.
As he spoke, Becky fought to keep from grinning. She had heard him walk in, mumbling to himself and moving furniture. She almost lost it when he started talking about public nudity. She couldn't believe it. He was a total wreck. Still she sat silent, enjoying every minute.
He held her hand tighter and began again. "You're so beautiful, Becky." Kyle whispered. "I look at you and sometimes I almost can't believe you are real. You are so brave. I can't believe how you saved me. That's just amazing. I can't believe you did that."
Becky couldn't stand it another second. What he was doing, what he was saying, it was like a dream come true. It was exactly the sort of thing she wanted to hear.
He didn't notice she was awake. He was too busy trying to get things just right. Kyle let her hand go for a minute and moved to pick up the flowers he had brought. "I didn't know what to get. The guy – he said you can't go wrong with these. So I got roses…"
"I love roses." Becky said softly as her eyes fluttered open.
Kyle's head snapped up at the sound of her voice. "Hi." He said, suddenly embarrassed.
"Hi." She smiled at him as she nodded towards the bouquet in his hands. "That's quite an arrangement."
He looked at it and then at her. "Does it look bad? I'm sorry. I didn't know what kind you like…"
She took pity on him. "They're lovely Kyle. They're beautiful. Roses are very special. Each color has a meaning. Did he tell you that too?"
"No." Kyle whispered as he stared at her.
"They do. Yellow is friendship or joy, white is loyalty or innocence or secrecy, pink is gratitude or grace. Pink's my mom's favorite." She said softly. "Did I ever tell you the reason my dad bought our house – well – they bought it for each other but that's another story – one of the reasons was because of the pink roses that grow outside. He wanted her to have them all summer long – whenever she wanted."
God. Grant was right. Becky was a hopeless romantic. Kyle began to panic a bit. He knew he'd mess this up. He fought to apologize. "So are you saying I should have gotten you all pink? Are they your favorite too? Because I am grateful, Becky. I'm very grateful for what you've done for me."
"No." She said as she shook her head. "I think the ones you chose are perfect. Because, we are friends and you do make me happy. I'm very thankful, Kyle that I met you."
Her words touched him more than any other's he'd ever heard. "Even though meeting me made you get hurt?" He asked, his voice shaky.
Becky bit back a laugh. Her mother was right. Look at him. He's a mess. Becky smiled as she reached for his hand. "Kyle – the vampire you came here – from thousands of miles away I might add – to warn me about hurt me. Not you. You didn't do anything but be the amazingly brave and kind and considerate person that you are." She promised him.
"Becky…" He said with a sigh. He held her hand tighter and looked into her eyes. "Je t'aime." He whispered under his breath.
She smiled widely, knowing that he didn't expect her to catch what he'd just said. This was certainly more like what she'd had in mind when she woke up earlier. "Kyle. You do realize I can understand you don't you?"
Kyle blushed crimson. He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. "Oh God. I – I umm – "
She decided to put him out of his misery. "It's OK, Kyle." She held his hand tighter and stared into his eyes."Te iubesc."
"Really?" He whispered as he set the roses aside and moved closer to her. His hand reached up to caress her cheek.
"Yeah." She nodded as his lips touched hers. "Really."
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"What's going on in here?" Chris asked as he walked through the door. He was anxious to get back to work. He and Ian were so close to a solution. But Kate was awake, apparently. He couldn't believe it.
"Chris…" Colin breathed. "She's…"
"Kate? Open your eyes sweetheart and look at me." He said as he moved to examine her. He lifted her lids gently and shined a light in her eyes, not at all surprised at what he saw. Maybe she just had been but she wasn't actually awake now. She was a breath away from being comatose.
At that moment, Livvie came inside the room. Having reluctantly left Rachel with Abby, she was joined by Caleb, Rafe and Alison.
"What's going on?" Rafe demanded.
Chris's face fell as he realized she had left them again. "There's no change." He said softly.
"NO. She was awake." Colin said desperately. "Where's the baby? Show her the baby…"
"Colin." Livvie said softly as she placed a hand on his arm.
He began to beg them. "Come on. You have to help me. She was just here with me. She was talking. I need her to see our son. She won't be able to leave if you just let her hold him…"
Alison couldn't take it. She clutched Rafe's arm and sank into his side, almost unable to stand.
"Shh." He tried to comfort her, his own heart breaking as he curled an arm around her shoulders. "Alison…"
"I can't…" She said, her voice hitching on a sob as she turned into his arms.
Chris gave them a sympathetic look and hurried out the door. He needed to get back to work. There wasn't much time.
Livvie watched as he did and then she turned her attention back to her son.
"Colin…" She tried to reach him but it was no use. He didn't even hear her. Once again, there was only one thing consuming him.
He resumed the place he had held since Kate had come out of surgery. "Come back to me, Katrina. Please." Colin promised her. "You can pick any name you want…"
