The gentle Seattle rain slowly nudged Carol from a blissful sleep. She hadn't slept so sound or so peaceful in months - not since Doug left. She lay there with her eyes closed for a moment, afraid that if she opened them everything would disappear and she'd be back in Chicago. Moaning softly, Carol opened her eyes, putting her hand to her forehead and brushing the hair away from her face.

Climbing out of bed, Carol pulled back the curtain, revealing a sky as black as night and the soft glow of the porch light, which sent a stream of brightness - somewhat distorted because of the rivers of water trailing down the window pane - into the darkened room. She was awakened further by voices coming from the other end of the house.

As she got closer to the kitchen, the muffled voices became clearer. She could make out Doug's voice a million miles away, but she wasn't sure who the other belonged to; it was unfamiliar and sounded younger.

"...for a few days." Carol walked in just in time to hear the tail end of Doug's sentence.

"Hi," she said quietly, almost shyly.

"Carol," Doug said, looking up from his coffee. He seemed almost surprised at her very presence.

"Who's this?" she asked casually, gesturing toward the owner of the other voice, who had turned in his seat when Carol had walked into the room. Carol now saw that it was a young boy, probably around 13 or 14, and realized immediately who it was.

"Uh, Carol, this is Michael," Doug said, embarrassed. "Michael, this is Carol. The one I've told you so much about," he added, giving Carol a small smile.

"It's nice to meet you," Michael said politely, reaching a hand out to Carol.

She shook his hand with a smile. "You, too," she said. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Carol motioned Doug into the formal dining room, just off the kitchen. A million and one things were running through her head. The one that kept repeating itself, though, was that Doug had lied to her the night before.

Carol crossed her arms and looked at him for a moment before speaking. "I thought you never saw him," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I know," Doug said, rubbing his hands up and down Carol's arms reassuringly. "His mom died a couple of months ago... cancer... and ever since then he's been coming to visit me one weekend a month."

"And you couldn't tell me all this last night?" she asked.

"I.. didn't wanna ruin things," Doug told her. "It was your first night here and... I just didn't wanna scare ya, Carol."

Carol offered him a small smile. "Well that's very considerate of you," she said, a hint of laughter in her voice.

"'Considerate' is my middle name," he teased.

Carol just rolled her eyes and kissed him.

Wrapping his arms around her, he continued. "And you're only gonna be here a couple of days, right? I figured it didn't matter so much."

Carol took a step back and looked at him. "What?"

"Well, you didn't bring the girls with you or a whole lot of luggage, so I just assumed..."

Carol couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had thought it was understood that she was staying. Permanently. She'd told him that when he asked if she was really staying, didn't she?

"Doug... I came here with the mindset that I'd be staying here - living here - with you and the girls. Permanently."

Doug just stood there, hands in his pockets, staring at her. "But I thought you were going back to Chicago tomorrow?" he asked.

"Oohhh..." Carol covered her face with her hands. "To get the girls, Doug! I figured you would want to see your daughters before they're eighteen! Plus you said you were going to that Malpractice and Asset Conference at the Chicago Hilton. I figured we'd fly out together... get Kate and Tess, stay for the conference and then... y'know... come back here."

Doug pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. "Well this is a nice surprise," he said, chuckling.

Carol laughed and sat on Doug's lap, putting her arms around his neck. "Yeah, it is," she said, grinning.

"Do you have everything packed?" Carol asked, walking into their bedroom, where Doug had every article of clothing he owned strewn around the room.

"No," he said, hands on his hips, asessing the damage.

"What've you been doing in here!" Carol asked. "Our flight leaves in two hours, Doug," she reminded him, pulling clean t-shirts off the floor and putting them in an overnight bag.

"Y'know, I have so many things I could wear, I just can't choose," he said sarcastically, sitting on the bed, causing a mound of clothes to fall over.

"Right," Carol said, laughing.

"Are you laughing?" Doug grinned, hopping off the bed and walking towards her.

"No!" Carol shrieked, bolting from the room.

Doug chased her through the house, as Carol laughed hysterically. "I should've paid attention during the damn tour!" she shouted, laughing as she tried to manuver her way through the unfamiliar house.

He finally cornered her in his office. Stopping in the doorway, Doug shook his head and laughed. "What?" Carol asked, grinning breathlessly.

"Oh nothing," Doug replied, grinning back at her.

"Bye!" Carol yelled, making a beeline for the door.

"Gotcha!" Doug said, catching her and lifting her off the ground.

"That's not fair," Carol protested, kissing him.

"Oh no?" he asked, sitting on the couch, Carol still in his arms.

"We have a flight to catch..." she reminded Doug as he began to kiss her again, standing over the couch with both hands on the headrest Carol was leaning on. "C'mere you," he said, pulling Carol into his arms as she broke out into a fit of giggles.

They made it to the airport just in time to hear "Flight 493 to Chicago is now boarding" over the PA.

"I don't believe it," Carol said, as they rushed through security.

Doug smiled and cocked his head in her direction. "What?"

"That in less than 72 hours, I've managed to catch two planes within minutes of them taking off," she responded, laughing a bit.

Doug just chuckled as they reached the gate. "Carol Hathaway, SuperWoman!" he teased.

The airport attendant scanned each of their boarding passes and wished them a pleasant flight.

Walking happily through the terminal and onto the plane, Carol and Doug found their seats and stashed their carry-ons.

"I can't believe it," Doug said, looking at Carol.

"What?" she asked, buckling her seat belt.

"That we're all gonna be together soon," he said, smiling at the thought of their little family reunion. "I can't wait."

As the plane took off, Carol couldn't help but take inventory of her life and realize how lucky she was. How lucky that she made the flight to Seattle, lucky that Doug was unattached and willing to take her back. Most of all, Carol couldn't wait to be a true family for the first time.