Chapter Sixty-nine

She dreamed of what her life would have been like. She saw every moment, every second played out in front of her eyes. She wanted to live a life with her husband and her son. It shouldn't have been so complicated.

Katrina could feel herself getting stronger. For the first time in months she felt almost normal. How long had it been since she'd been able to stay awake for more than a few hours at a time?

She realized all at once that her son was here – that he'd been born and that she hadn't even had the chance to hold him. She whimpered in her sleep, suddenly feeling a hand grab hold of hers.

"Colin…" She murmured, knowing that it could be no one else sitting beside her.

"Katrina." He whispered. "Come on. Please…" He begged. "Come back to me Katrina. I love you. I need you. Alex and I – we both need you."

"Alex…" Kate said so softly he had to strain to hear. "The baby…"

"That's right. He's here. He's been waiting for you." Colin held her hand tighter. If only he could will her awake.

"Colin?" Kate's eyes fluttered open. She gave his hand a squeeze.

"There you are. That's right." Colin's heart raced. He didn't dare hope. It had been months of worrying and then weeks of trying to wrap his head around the possibility that he would have to live without her. He didn't know exactly how to feel at the moment.

Kate looked around the room and realized that nearly every person she loved most in the world was there. Her parents, Grant and Chloe, Lia and Danny and Lynnie and Ethan, her Aunt Abby and Uncle Cam and in the far corner stood Livvie, looking on as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Why is everyone here? Is the baby alright?" Kate asked confused.

Alison blinked back tears of her own and moved closer to her daughter's bedside. "Yes sweetheart. Alexander is just fine. He's perfect."

"Where is he?" Kate asked as she tried to sit up. "And where's Becky? Is she out with that cute boy again?"

Rafe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was overjoyed to have Kate back with them and beyond concerned over what was to come. After Becky he had Ella to deal with. Sighing he moved over to stand next to his wife. "She's here. She's in her room. A lot has happened Princess. We just needed you to come back to us."

"What do you mean back?" Kate replied. "I'm right here. Colin?" She gazed at her husband. "Why is everyone in here? What's going on?"

"There are a million people in here." Alison said softly as she grabbed hold of Rafe's hand. "Let's let Colin explain things to her." She glanced around the room and moved with Rafe towards the door. "We should go. That's probably a good idea. Let's give them some time."

Still completely confused, Kate watched them all go. "Colin?" She asked hopefully as she stared into his eyes.

"You scared me." He replied, his voice breaking a bit. "Don't you ever do that again do you hear me?"

"I'm sorry. I promise I didn't mean to." She said as she tried to sit up. It was only then that she noticed the crib nearby. "Oh my God. Colin."

Colin's hands shook as he let hers go and moved towards Alex. He felt incredibly guilty as he gazed down at his son. He knew he'd barely spent any time with him.

"Hey little guy." He whispered as he reached down to pick him up. He held Alex gently in his arms and walked over towards Kate. "Guess what? Your mom's awake now. She really wants to see you."

Kate pushed herself to sit up and tried to compose herself. "Colin…" She whispered.

"There you go." Colin replied as he tenderly set Alex into Kate's arms. "There's she is. I know. You've been waiting for her haven't you?"

Katrina gazed down at her son and ran a finger over his cheek. "Hi." She whispered. "Look at you." Tears ran quietly down her cheeks as she pressed a kiss to his forehead, inhaling the scent of his skin. She pulled back and took his tiny hand in hers - counting his fingers and then bringing them to her lips. She kissed him lightly as she said. "Oh, you're so tiny."

She tore her gaze away and looked up at Colin, who had settled on the edge of the bed. "You look so tired." She said softly as she ran a hand over his cheek.

Colin chuckled a bit. "Do I? I hadn't noticed."

She gazed down at Alex again, her heart overflowing with love. "Something bad happened – didn't it?"

Colin swallowed before he spoke, his eyes filling as he watched his wife and son together. He'd never seen something as beautiful in his life. "It was rough there for a while. Yeah…"

"But he's OK right?" Kate asked her voice a bit desperate.

"Yes. He's fine." Colin replied with a nod. "It's you I'm worried about, Katrina. How do you feel?"

"Really, really good." She said as she shifted Alex in her arms. Even though it had only been a few moments she felt like she had always held him like this. "I feel like myself for the first time in months."

Colin sighed with relief. "That's good. I'm glad to hear it – but I'm sure Chris and Ian want to see you to be sure."

Kate tried to recall the events of the last few days but came up virtually empty. "Chris and Ian? Colin. Please tell me. What's going on?"

He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her lips as he answered. "I'm not even sure where to start."

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Rafe wandered away from the crowd to the room down the hall. He took a deep breath before he eased the door open and moved inside.

"Here to kick me when I'm down, Slayer?" Caleb said weakly from his bed. "It'd be just like you. You know you don't stand a chance unless I'm incapacitated."

Rafe chuckled a bit as he moved closer. "No. Actually the opposite." He took another steadying breath, shocking himself as he said the words. "I'm here to thank you."

Caleb eyed him suspiciously. "Who are you kidding? You'd have pinned me down to get me to cooperate. Either way you'd have gotten what you needed."

"That's true." Rafe admitted. "If you'd have refused I'd have found a way. I'm just glad you beat me to it. Alison and I…we're both incredibly grateful."

His words made Caleb completely self conscious. "Get over yourself, Slayer. I didn't do this for you."

Rafe expected that type of reaction. "Truthfully? I don't care why you did it or who you did it for. I'm just so relieved to have her back. You have no idea." Pausing a bit, he added. "Well. Maybe you do."

Caleb remained silent. He didn't know if he was quite in the mood for a little heart to heart.

"I never thought…" Rafe began. "I never believed you really loved anyone. Not really. I believed you controlled Livvie. I believed you wanted her – but love? I didn't think you were capable."

"Don't get so excited…" Caleb interjected.

"No." Rafe insisted. "I really never gave it a thought. Now – don't get me wrong – I still believe the world's a better place without the likes of you…"

"And now there's the guy I know. You had me nervous for a bit there." Caleb said weakly. He was still reeling from his ordeal and honestly just wanted to be left alone.

"I just…" Rafe began again. "I know that you did this for Colin – and that's not something I thought you were capable of. I never thought you'd put someone before yourself."

"Well. Happy I could surprise you." Caleb said as he closed his eyes again. He was done talking. Giving up a small sample of blood was equivalent to someone pummeling him incessantly for days. He was completely drained and every inch of him screamed with pain. The tiny stab of a needle was in some ways close to a stake through the heart.

Rafe knew it and also knew that the conversation was over for now. Still he couldn't leave without adding. "That's the thing about you, Caleb." Rafe said softly as he moved towards the door. "You always find a way to."

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"I'm sorry." Kate said as a tear ran slowly down her cheek. She couldn't believe what he was telling her.

Colin shook his head. "It's OK."

"I can't believe…" She said softly. "Colin. I wanted to be here. I really did."

"Shh. I know." He tried to reassure her.

"How did you get your father to agree? He wouldn't want to."

"I don't know." Colin admitted. "My mother might have convinced him – I know your mother tried too. I don't care how it happened, Katrina. I am just so, so glad to have you back here with me."

She leaned over and kissed him sweetly before she answered. "With both of you." She corrected him as she gazed down at the baby.

"Yeah. Both of us." Colin said softly as he ran a hand over Alex's head. "We were really worried we'd be all alone. It was just awful wasn't it?" He said as he kissed his son's brow.

"I'd never leave you." Kate promised, her voice barely audible.

"I know you wouldn't want to – but I gotta tell you. I was terrified for a while that you would." Colin replied.

"I'm sorry." Kate replied. As if he could sense she was upset, Alex began to squirm and whimper in her arms. "Shh, baby. I'm sorry."

Colin watched them together and couldn't believe how amazing it all was. They were together again and they were all happy and healthy. With all that they'd been through it seemed so unreal.

All of the sudden it began to catch up with him. He had been by her side for hours and hours. He'd barely slept. Kate could see all at once that he was about to collapse.

"Colin? Sweetheart?" She whispered as she took his chin in her hand and made him meet her eyes.

"Yeah?" He whispered.

She shifted the baby so that his head rested on her shoulder. Colin couldn't believe how natural she looked. He got distracted and zoned out for a bit. Her voice brought him back. "It's OK. I'm going to be fine. You can rest now."

"Katrina." He said as he finally began to focus. "I'm afraid…"

She knew how hard it was for him to admit that. "I know."

Colin wasn't finished with what he had to say. "We have a lot to talk about. I need to hear them say it. I need for Chris and Ian to tell me you're really going to be OK."

"OK." Kate agreed. "I'm sure they'll be here to check on me soon."

"I need to know for sure. I need to know that this won't happen again." He didn't need to say much more – Kate knew exactly what he was talking about. Still her heart melted when she heard him add. "He's so beautiful Katrina." He whispered, his voice full of wonder as Alex grabbed hold of his finger and held tight. "We need to have more."

Kate was content enough with the soft, sweet bundle she held in her arms, but she would deny him nothing. She was sure she couldn't love him more than she already did – but Colin proved her wrong, time and again.

"Colin…" She laughed softly. "We'll talk to them and see."

"OK." He sighed. All of the sudden he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

Kate could see he was fading quickly. "Hold on." She said as she shifted over, cradling Alex in her arms. "Lay down. It's OK. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Will you be awake?" Colin asked nervously as he stretched out beside her, throwing an arm gently across her lap as he settled in.

"I will. I promise." She said as she watched his eyes flutter closed. It was then she gazed down and realized her son was just like his father. At the moment, both of the men in her life were fast asleep.