Sometime during the pocession, her parents had disappeared. Caitlin turned to look for them and got pulled into a warm hug.

Bette was still wiping her eyes with a pink silk handkerchief. "Beautiful service wasn't it?"

Caitlin nodded without hearing what Bete was saying, distracted by the abscence of her parents. "Where did mom and dad go?"

Searching the area, Bette didn't see anything of them. She thought for a moment and sighed, "Bathroom." Patting Caitlin's hand she explained as kindly as she could. "You know your mother hasn't been feeling well lately. Your parents have been talking about fitting her into Roger's schedule, so they're taking care of her."

Caitlin looked innocent, hoping to glean some information from Bette beyond what she knew. "What's wrong with mom?"

"Nothing serious Beauty, she's probably just picked something up. Been rundown lately with everything that's going on." Bette watched Caitlin's face darken slightly as she blew her off. The naivite was an act, as Roger suspected. "I wouldn't worry your pretty little head about it."

Roger waved at her from the front of the chapel. "Are you riding over with Roger and I?"

Caitlin could tell Bette was being purposely vague and riding over to the cemetary with her and Roger wasn't likely to get her any answers. If she waited she could force her parents to take her. It had been awhile since she had been with the two of them. Surely they would still be honest with her. "No, I think I'll wait for mom and dad. I love daddy's stories about Alex." She headed for the back of the church, crossing her arms impatiently as she waited by the bathroom door. Five minutes, then ten passed and her parents showed no sign of emerging from the bathroom.

Her father was somewhere else. He didn't have any reason to follow her into the bathroom. If Olivia was in there alone she would had the chance to confront her she'd been waiting for. Caitlin headed for the bathroom door.

"We're going to have a baby." Grgory repeated again, chuckling as he nuzzled her neck.

Olivia didn't want to leave the bathroom. Right now it was their sanctuary from the world, and until they faced what was outside she didn't have to think about what Cole St. John was going to try to do to her baby. It would have to be a secret, something just between the two of them until they knew what to do to protect the baby from that monster. "Darling, we can't tell anyone."

Gregory took one last look at the pregnancy before slipping it into his jacket pocket. "No, we can't. If it gets out, that bastard will-" Clenching his jaw, he release her for a moment, pacing the bathroom. "We'll get you an appointment with Roger tomorrow. We know we can trust him."

"He's going to have to come up with a cover story." Olivia added as Gregory came back to her, even with the terrible weight on his shoulders, he was still smiling. He was adorable when he was this happy. He put his hands on her waist, looking at her stomach instead of her face. "People other then you are going to start asking questions if I don't start to 'get better' soon."

Impulsively kissing her, Gregory continued to smile, giddy with joy. "Roger didn't spend all that time in medical school for nothing. He'll come up with something reasonable. We should tell Bette too- if nothing else, she's good at distractions."

That brought a giggle from Olivia as she agreed, leaning against his shoulder. "She is. She really is. And we trust both of them."

"We can't tell the kids." Gregory began softly, knowing how worried Sean was about his mother already. He didn't get to finish his thought as Caitlin burst into the bathroom.

She studied them both, looking incredibly suspicious. "I was wondering where you had gotten to." As she expected, they both looked rather embarassed. They didn't break apart, her father's move to wrap his arms around her mother nearly made her sick.

Something was different. Something had changed because her father was smiling. Not just smiling, but grinning like a little boy who had been just set free on holidays. Olivia looked caught between laughing and crying. Gregory's hands were on her shoulders posessively, as if she needed to be protected from the world.

Olivia started to feel guilty as her daughter's gaze bored into her. She started to speak, but Gregory interjected. "Sorry Caitlin. We didn't realize you were waiting for us."

"Because children would never want to wait for their parents." Caitlin snapped back, smiling even though her words were bitter. "And keeping secrets from me too. Just what are you talking about in here?"

Gregory looked at Olivia for a moment, then he smiled apologetically, almost bringing himself to blush. "We're taking the boat out again next weekend. Just the two of us. I know it might seem foolish to you but sometimes it's fun for your parents to keep a secret or two from their kids. Steal a little romance."

She looked unconvinced, and Olivia backed Gregory up. "We're just being silly darling. I apologize. It's just been a really long week for us."

"We needed some time alone." Gregory continued, collecting Olivia's purse and starting towards Caitlin. "Especially with your mother not feeling well. The crowd was a little much."

"Can we go now then?" She asked impatiently, not cring to hear them go on anymore. "We're going to miss the procession."

Both of her parents nodded and sheepishly followed her to the car. "Of course Cate."

The group at the cemetary was small. Most of the people had already paid their respects and Ben was throwing a wake at the Deep. It worked out for the best for Casey. He was tired of trying to talk to everyone who had something to say about his mother He was tired of talking to anyone. Heather attempted to get him to leave the side of the grave, but he couldn't. He couldn't explain to her why he needed to stay. He just put his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "I'm going to stay for awhile."

Heather wasn't sure who to turn to. If he wouldn' t talk to her, she wasn't sure where to put the chances of him talking to anyone else. She folded her arms over her chest, wishing the weather was better. Everyone else stood off to the side slightly, all with umbrellas. She recognized the last remaining faces as she brushed tendrils of wet blonde hair out of her face. She had an umbrella in the car, it wasn't worth it anymore. She was already wet enough for it not to make a difference.

Mrs. Richards left the dry circle beneath the umbrella her husband was holding and stood next to Heather for a moment. "He's just going to stand there."

"Looks like it." The rain made a gentle melody on the taunt fabric of the umbrellas behind them. "I just don't know what to say anymore."

Olivia took a stray piece of dark hair and tucked it back into the wet knot on the back of her head. "Your parents are still alive?"

Heather smiling, knowing how lucky she was. "Yeah, they live back east. Pretty fond of him."

"Who wouldn't be?" Olivia leaned in conspiratorially, surprising the younger woman with the warmth she could put into a smile. "I know I'd be thrilled in my daughter brought someone like Casey home." She watched him stand over the flowers on Alex's coffin for a few more moments and then started towards him without another word.

She exuded such poise as she walked through the rain to Casey. Heather stood and waited, hoping Olivia would know what to say. At first she didn't say anything. She just stood at Casey's shoulder. Eventually, after an eternity Olivia started speaking, she could tell by the movement of her hands, but Heather couldn't hear anything through the rain.

The umbrella over her head surprised her. The man holding the handle put his free hand on her shoulder, ignoring how wet she was. "She'll get through to him." The hand and the umbrella belonged Gregory Richards, the man half the town seemed to see as a cross between a Kaiser and a hero.

Having the rain off her face was nice. "It would take magic to get through to him now."

Gregory pulled a neat linen handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her chivalrously. It was monogrammed, the entwined dark red GR made of silk thread. "Here." The quiet smile on his face suggested he knew more then he was saying. "Olivia has her own kind of magic."

"It was raining when my father died too." Olivia's voice held as wisdom as old as the rain around them. "Much colder then this though. I must have stood over my father's grave for hours, as my hands and feet went numb. Hoping somehow if I stared long enough, it would all just go away. Fade into the nightmare I knew it was. A nightmare I could wake up from." There was a victory in the way he didn't pull away when she put her hand on his arm.

"I know it feels like you're dead too. I can't tell you you'll stop missing her- because you never do. That pain doesn't go away because the hole in your heart never goes away." Olivia recognized Alex in the stoic expression on his face.

"I still talk to my father, and he died-" She had to pause and think. "Twenty five years ago. But I know, where ever he is, he still hears me."

Casey moved his foot in the wet grass, watching the mud move out of the way of his shoe. "Does it make you feel better?"

The heavy knot of wet hair on the back of her head was coming undone and snaking down her neck as she shook her head. "Most of the time." She reached into her hair and undid the clip, letting it fall in ropes unto her shoulders as she tucked the clip away in her jacket pocket. "Sometimes I feel that hole in my heart reach up and grab me."

"Then what?" Casey asked softly, as he looked up from the soaking wet ribbons on the flowers over the casket.

Olivia took her hand back from his rubbing them together before crossing her arms over her chest. "Then I just want Gregory to hold me until I move on."

Casey's surprise was a welcome change of expression on his kind face. and he almost smiled when she laughed. "I see Gregory's reputation isn't lost on you. The cold-hearted, jet-set lawyer who would rather eat his children then part with money." She gestured him closer with one hand. "And rumor has it he's very fond of his children."

Shrugging, Casey found he liked the playful light in her eyes. "Sounds about right."

"He'll be pleased." Olivia lowered her arms back to her sides, letting him take her arm. "He's always happy to know his reputation is intact." Glancing back to make sure Gregory was out of earshot, she gestured for him to lower his head to her level.

"Now, what I'm going to tell you is just between us and no one will believe you if you repeat it." For a moment she seemed almost ready to change her mind. "You might not even believe me."

Olivia wrapped her arm tighter around his elbow. "But- I am going to tell you anyway." Pausing for dramatic effect, she successfully brought the spark of interest into his eyes. "Just this morning, Gregory was so nervous that he was babbling like a naughty child." Finding the hint of a smile in his face, she continued. "His hands were trembling."

Casey shook his head. "I don't believe you. I can't think of anything that would make Gregory Richards nervous."

Standing on her tiptoes was difficult in the muddy grass, and Olivia pulled him down with a hand on his tie. "There's one phrase that terrifies any man to the core of his being."

Wiping the rain from his eyes, he waited expectantly.

Olivia's eyes grew bigger, softer then he had ever seen them. "I'm having your baby."

Casey straightened, staring at her with his mouth open. Calmly, Olivia put his hand over her stomach. "Now this is a secret too for a few weeks, but I wanted to ask you early how you felt about babysitting."

Shaking his head, he looked at her, speechless. Olivia gave him the timehe needed to recovery himself. Enjoying the dance of emotions on his face. "You're serious."

Olivia nodded, smiling a little in pride. "That's Gregory's baby under there. Our baby."

"You just told him this morning?" Casey stammered, gamely trying to find the right words. "And now you're telling me?"

The patient smile that lit her face promised that someday, he'd know the answers she did. "I thought you could use some good news. Besides, I really am serious about the babysitting."

Across the cemetary, Heather looked at Gregory with new respect as Casey and Olivia turned towards them in the rainand started walking. "He's smiling."

"What did I tell you?" Gregory teased with pride lighting his eyes. "She has her own kind of magic."