A/N: Did anyone ever watch PC back in the early days? If you did, do you remember the time when Dominique's spirit visited Serena? That's sort of what I based this stuff with Katrina on. And on another note, I'll try to make it as less confusing as possible with two characters named Katrina lol. I think you'll have a pretty good idea which Katrina I'm talking about though ;)
Kennedy – thank you so much for your kind words. That means so much to me! I cried a little too when I wrote that part. I had to make it really sad though :'(
Erin – I've got a big plan for the house. :) I think it's a really good idea. But I'm not ready to say what it is yet. I've got to keep a few secrets ;) So stay tuned!
To everyone else – thanks so much for reading! Until 22!
Changes 21Morning came. Katrina stretched out her little arms and yawned. She opened and closed her eyes several times, wanting to go back to sleep but also, wanting to get up so she could play.
She suddenly remembered the dream she had last night. Daddy said sometimes angels visit you in your dreams, but it had seemed so real.
It was then that she saw her. There she was, sitting in the rocking chair across the room, smiling at her. It hadn't been a dream after all!
"Good morning, Precious."
Katrina sat up and threw the covers off her. "Hey! You're still here!"
She laughed. "Well I promised you I would be, didn't I?"
Katrina ran to her grandmother, throwing her arms around her and giving her a hug. "I'm glad you stayed!"
"Did you sleep good last night?" she asked, holding her at arms length.
Katrina nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Now you better run along. I think your mommy and daddy are downstairs waiting for you."
"Oh come with me!" Katrina begged, taking her grandmother's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Come downstairs and eat breakfast with us! I bet Daddy's going to be really happy to see you!"
"Oh, no, Precious," she said, kneeling down to her granddaughter's level. "I'm sorry, I wish I could, but they can't see me."
"How come?"
"Because I'm only visible to you. That means only you can see and hear me. That's just the way it works."
"Oh," Katrina said, disappointed.
"Hey, no long faces. It's alright."
"Are you leaving now? Are you going to be gone whenever I come back?"
"I'll be here whenever you need me, okay?"
Katrina smiled. "Okay."
"Now run along. Breakfast is ready and it's getting cold."
Katrina ran to the door, but then turned around and ran back to her. She gave her grandmother one more hug. "I love you, Grandma Kat!"
"I love you, too."
Katrina smiled at her, then ran out of the room, leaving her grandmother smiling too.
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"Rafe, how many eggs do you want? One or two?"
"That's fine," he said, his nose buried in the old spiral notebook.
"Rafe, you didn't answer me."
Rafe looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry, Angel. What did you ask me?"
"How many eggs do you want?"
"Two is fine."
Alison put two eggs on his plate and took a seat beside him. "Are you okay?" She placed her hand over his.
"Just thinking," he replied, turning back to the notebook and flipping a few pages.
"Is this about that dream you had last night? Are you thinking about your mother?"
Rafe closed the notebook and held it up. "Do you know what this is?"
Alison shook her head. "No. What?"
"It was my mother's. It's a day planner. I can't believe I didn't realize how sick she was. Do you know how many doctor appointments I found in this notebook? I don't know why I'm looking at it." Rafe pushed the notebook aside.
"Because you love her," Alison answered. "And you miss her."
"I'm disappointing her."
"Rafe, how could you possibly disappoint your mother?"
"By throwing this place away. Just selling it like it means nothing. My parents were so happy here. And I just can't help but think of how I'm going to let it go."
"Rafe, you could never disappoint your mother. Or your father for that matter. They love you no matter what. Whatever you decide do with this place, they would never be disappointed in you."
Rafe gave her a little smile. Alison was always good for making him feel better.
"Well, I better go wake up Katrina before she misses breakfast," Alison announced, standing up.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Katrina shouted as she raced into the kitchen.
"Good morning, sweetie," Alison said, giving her daughter a peck on the cheek as she sat down at the table.
"Well there's my brave girl," Rafe said. "You weren't afraid of the big storm last night?"
"Oh, I was afraid! But Grandma Kat watched over me."
Rafe and Alison exchanged glances.
Rafe smiled, touching the top of her head. "I'm sure she did, Princess."
Katrina took literally three quick bites of her pancake and swallowed a gulp of juice. "I'm done!" she announced as she started to stand up from the table.
"Oh no, I don't think so, missy," Alison said.
"Not hungry, Mommy!"
"Katrina," Rafe warned. "Have at least four more bites of your pancake, at least one egg, one slice of bacon, and drink a little more of your juice. Then you'll be done."
Katrina sighed. Sometimes she wished she was a grown up. Then no one could tell her to eat this and eat that and how much of it to eat!
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Upstairs, Katrina walked around the room, running her fingers along the furniture. She remembered when this was Rafe's room.
She looked out the window, squinting her eyes as the bright sunshine nearly blinded her. She smiled as she watched a bird fly through the air and into a tree across the grounds. It sure felt good to be back. She had almost forgotten how much she missed this place.
Earlier…Ed was sitting at his desk when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in."
Before Katrina could even say hello, Ed was shaking his head at her.
"No, no, no! The answer's NO!"
"But I haven't asked you anything yet!" Katrina said.
"You didn't have to ask me. I can read your mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy here."
Katrina ignored him, walking right into his office and taking a seat.
Ed sighed deeply. He should know have known she wouldn't give up so easily. "What is it?"
"I'm worried about Rafe."
"He's fine."
"No he's not. He's not fine at all. I'm his mother. I know these things."
"Okay, maybe he's been moping around a bit. But what do you want me to do about it?"
Katrina took a deep breath. "I want you to send me back."
"I already told you. The answer's no."
"Oh come on, Ed! Why not?"
"Katrina, everyone who comes up here wants to go back down the minute they see a loved one in pain. Everyone here wants to go down to earth to spend more time with the people they miss. But I can't just send you back. It doesn't work that way."
"Well how come you get to go down to earth so much, hmm?"
"You want my job, Katrina? It's not as easy and fun as it looks."
"Okay, look, I'm not asking you to break any rules. I'm just worried about my son and I want to make sure he's doing okay. Can't you send me down as a guardian?"
"Only if there's immediate danger. And there isn't, so the answer is no."
Katrina rose from her chair and walked over to the bookshelf. She browsed through the titles, seeing the book she wanted and pulling it from the shelf. She flipped through it a few times to find the page she wanted.
"Statute 1.3 says a guardian can go to Earth anytime they feel their presence is needed."
"Let me finish that sentence for you. In the event of imminent danger," Ed replied, putting on his glasses and turning back to the paperwork at hand. Everyone who wanted to go back tried to use that rule as a loophole to go back.
Katrina wasn't about to give up just yet. She walked back to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. "You know, Ed, I'm surprised. I expected more from you. You were so good to my son when he came up here and he talked so much about how he admired you. He still admires you. You know my grandson's name is Gabriel Edward Kovich. That's how much of an impression you've made on him. And now the one time when he's in need of some guidance, you won't let me help him. I don't understand, Ed. Why can't you just send me back? Just for a little while! That's all I'm asking!"
Ed sighed. "You're just like your son. You know that?"
"Thank you. I take that as a compliment."
Ed sighed again. "Look, I can't just send you down. It doesn't work that way. Sending angels down on a mission or to take journeys is one thing but to send them down just to be with their family for a little while longer is another thing. I can get in big trouble for doing that."
Katrina looked down. It was started to look hopeless.
"However," Ed said, softening his tone a bit. "I suppose I could send you down in spirit form."
Katrina's eyes lit up. "You'll let me go!"
"Yes. And because I know that if I don't you're going to keep asking me anyway."
Katrina was so happy she felt like crying. "Oh Ed, thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!"
"Katrina, you realize that if I send you down as a spirit guide, Rafe won't be able to see you."
"But my granddaughter will," Katrina said happily. "Children can see spirits. Isn't that right?"
Of course she'd know about that, Ed thought to himself. Everybody up here wanted to go down as a spirit. They were the ones that made babies laugh and smile when no one was around. They were the ones that would play with lonely children and keep them company.
"Yes," Ed said. "Katrina will be able to see you."
"Oh, thank you, Ed! Thank you! I knew my son was right about you!" Katrina rose from the chair and ran out of the office.
Ed tried to always put on an annoyed act, but deep down, he was a softy. He smiled as he went back to his work.
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Once she was finally excused from the table, Katrina raced back up the stairs. She hoped her grandmother would still be there.
"Grandma Kat?" she called out, walking into the room. She didn't see anyone.
"Grandma Kat? Where are you?" she asked again.
"I'm right here, Precious," she said from behind her.
Katrina turned around and smiled. "Oh, there you are!"
She laughed. "I told you I'd still be here."
"You wanna play?"
"Sure, we can play."
Katrina smiled again. "I know!" She ran to the dresser where the music box sat. Katrina picked it up and brought it over to her grandmother. "Look." Katrina lifted the lid. The music played, and once again, the ballerina began her dance.
"Oh I remember this. This was one of my favorite music boxes. I always loved the dancing ballerina."
"I take ballet!" Katrina said happily.
"Oh you do?"
"Yeah, at home. And Molly and Cindy are in my class too. They're my friends. We get to wear pink ballerina dresses and we dance and dance and dance! It's fun!"
"I bet you're very good at ballet."
"Yep. And I can stand on my tippy-toes too! Watch!" Katrina stood on her tiptoes and turned around.
Katrina smiled at her granddaughter. "Wonderful job!"
The music slowly came to an end, and Katrina tired of dancing. "Hey, I wanna show you something else!" She ran over to her bed and found Bernie under the sheet.
"Who's this?"
"This is my bear Bernie."
"Well hello, Bernie. It's nice to meet you."
Katrina laughed. "He says it's nice to meet you too. And he says you're really pretty."
"Well that's very nice. Where did you get Bernie?"
"At the carnival. Daddy got him for me. There was this machine that had like a million stuffed animals inside. And Bernie was right against the glass and looking like he wanted out real bad. So I told Daddy and he said he'd try to get him out for me. So he put in a quarter and there was this big claw like thing that moved around on the top."
Katrina demonstrated how the claw looked with her hand.
"Then the big claw came down and it grabbed Bernie! And I was so happy, but then it dropped him! Then Daddy tried again, but he didn't get him. And then he put in another quarter, and he didn't get him. And then he said if he had to spend all of his money, he was going to get that bear! And then he had one more quarter left! Then the big claw came down. Then it grabbed Bernie, and he got him!"
Katrina laughed, loving how animated her granddaughter was as she told the story.
"Katrina, who are you talking to?" Alison asked, walking into her bedroom.
"Grandma Kat. She's right there," Katrina answered, as if her mother didn't know.
Alison thought about that for a moment, then smiled. Katrina pretended to have imaginary friends all the time. It didn't surprise her that she pretended to play with her grandmother. She was absolutely fascinated with the painting of her downstairs. It reminded her of how she used to talk to Nana Becca when she was a child.
"Well sweetie, Daddy's going to be doing some work around the house. So we're going to go to the market, okay?" Alison walked over to the drawers and began to pick out Katrina's clothes for the day.
Katrina ran over to where her mother was and rummaged through the clothes. "I wanna wear my shirt with the hearts on it! Where is it?"
"Right here," she said, handing it to her. "Now go ahead and get dressed so we can go."
"Okay."
"And did you brush your teeth?"
Katrina shook her head no.
"Well don't forget to do that too!" Alison gave her a cheek a kiss and headed out of the bedroom to get dressed herself.
Once her mother had left, Katrina turned to grandmother. "How come Mommy didn't see you?"
"Because Precious, I told you. Only you can see me. Remember? I guess it's like our little secret."
Katrina smiled big. She liked secrets.
"Well, you better get dressed. I'll be back later, okay?"
"Okay."
Katrina watched as her grandmother faded away into thin air. But she wasn't sad. She knew she'd be back.
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Katrina stepped out onto the front porch as she waited for her mother. Over by the window, she saw her father hammering. Curious, she walked over to him.
"Whatcha hammering, Daddy?"
"These shutters. They're about ready to fall off."
"Can I help?"
"Sure. You could hand me a nail out of that little box. Be careful though; they're sharp."
Katrina reached inside and picked up a nail. "Here, Daddy!"
"Thanks, Princess."
"Hey, Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"You're really sweaty!"
Rafe laughed. "Well it's hot out here and I'm working hard."
"Well when you get done, you should go take a shower. Mommy's not going to want to kiss you if you're all sweaty!"
Rafe laughed again. "You're absolutely right. I'll be sure to wash up before lunch."
"There you are," Alison said as she came out of the house. "Katrina, you ready?"
"Yeah."
"Great. Come on. Rafe, we'll be back soon."
Katrina happily skipped down the porch steps.
Rafe stopped his work. "Wait. Where are you going?"
"I thought I'd go down to the market to pick up a few things. Maybe buy some souvenirs."
Rafe frowned. He didn't want Alison and Katrina going off alone. "You have your cell phone, right?"
"Yes, Rafe."
"Why don't you take the car?"
"No, I think a walk would do me good. I need a little exercise. Besides, it's not far. Just a short walk down the path."
"How about I walk with you?"
Alison laughed. "Rafe! Don't you have work to do?"
"Well yeah, but, I could take a break."
"No, Daddy, you can't. Because you got a lot of work to do and then you gotta take a shower and clean up for Mommy. Remember?"
Rafe laughed, then gave up. They were both determined to go without him. "You call me if you need me."
"We'll be back soon," she said, giving him a quick kiss before heading down the steps. "Come on, baby."
Rafe watched them as they walked away. He was suddenly very glad Alison had convinced him to take them both. Over the past few days, he really loved showing them where he grew up and telling them stories from his childhood.
He turned his attention back to the broken shutters. How could he let this place fall into such bad shape? And it wasn't just the shutters. The paint was peeling off. The steps were coming loose. Even a few of the windows were cracked. Why didn't he do something about it sooner? Ever since he came back to Earth, he had plenty of opportunities to come back home and fix this place up. But he hadn't. He pushed it aside, almost forgetting it. Now he regretted it. The house was in shambles, a disgrace to the whole family. "I'm sorry," he said, looking up to the sky.
Nearby, his mother heard him. She watched him, wishing she could wrap her arms around him, hug him tight, and let him know that it was okay. "Listen to your wife, Rafe," she said. "No one is disappointed in you. But we're all very proud."