A/N: Sorry to make you all wait for this chapter. I was going to post it sooner but it's been a busy week for me. Well, here it is...one of my FAVORITE CHAPTERS :)

Until 38!

Chapter 37

All day long, all Katrina could think about was Gabe. It wasn't fair. All of the grownups got to be at the hospital with the baby, but because she was just a kid, she had to be stuck at school!

And then at the end of the day, right in the middle of story time, Katrina happened to look up and see a familiar face standing in the doorway.

"Daddy!" Katrina shouted, getting up off the floor and running to her father.

The assistant teacher stopped reading the story, and all of the children turned their eyes to their classroom visitor. Normally, you'd get in trouble for interrupting the story, but this was an exception, because Daddy was here to pick her up!

"Hey, Daddy!" Katrina hugged her father tightly. She hadn't seen him all day and she missed him.

"Hey, Princess."

The teacher waved at him, then returned to the story. A few nosy children kept looking behind them, wondering why Katrina got to go home early.

"Can we go see Gabe now?" Katrina begged.

Rafe laughed, knowing that would be the first thing she would ask. "Yes, we're going now."

"Mr. Kovich, hello," Miss Darlington said, walking over to him.

"Hello. I'll be signing Katrina out early today."

"Did your wife have the baby?"

Rafe smiled. "She did. Seven pounds, eight ounces," he said proudly.

"Oh that's wonderful! It's all Katrina talked about today."

"It's all she talks about at home too," he said with a laugh.

"Daddy, can we go now?" By this time, Katrina had grabbed her bookbag and lunchbox out of her cubby and was almost out the door.

"In a minute, Princess. Does she have any homework over the weekend?"

"No homework, just keep reading with her at night."

"Oh we do."

"Daddy, come on!" Katrina begged, tugging on his jeans.

"Well, we better go."

"Well congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you. We'll see you later."

"See you Monday, Katrina. Bye."

"Bye!" Katrina said, taking her father's hand and practically dragging him out of the door.

Miss Darlington laughed. Katrina was always one to give you a hug when she said goodbye, but today, she was just too excited.

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Katrina held her father's hand as he walked her down the hallway. Daddy said to be very quiet, because there were a lot of sleeping babies on this floor.

There were so many rooms down this hallway, and Katrina wondered which one Mommy and Gabe were in. Finally, they stopped at the very last room, and Rafe slowly opened the door.

"Remember, quiet voices," Rafe said.

Katrina saw her mother sitting up in the bed with a big smile on her face. In her arms, she held the baby, wrapped up in a blue blanket.

"Hi, sweetie. Come see your little brother."

Katrina made her way over to the bed and looked down at the sleeping baby.

A little giggle escaped her mouth. "He's tiny! Like a doll baby."

Alison laughed with her. "I know, he sure is."

"Hi, Gabe," she whispered.

"Come sit up here with me so you can see him better."

Katrina gently climbed up in the bed to sit beside her mother. She reached out and brushed his cheek with her finger, and laughed as he moved his head toward her hand.

"Look at his tiny hand, Katrina," Alison said, picking up the baby's hand and showing it's size in relation to her own.

"Gabe's real tiny. Can I give him a kiss?"

"Of course."

Katrina leaned down, giving her brother a soft kiss on his tiny forehead.

"This calls for a picture," Rafe announced, taking a camera out of the bag on the dresser and aiming it towards them.

Alison put one arm around Katrina and held her close as she smiled at the camera.

"Okay, say cheese," Rafe said.

"Cheese!" Katrina whispered excitedly.

Rafe snapped the picture.

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A few hours had passed, and Katrina had fallen asleep beside her mother. It was as if watching Gabe sleep made her sleepy too.

"Princess?"

Katrina made a little mumble.

"Princess, wake up."

Katrina slowly opened her eyes. "Daddy?"

"It's time to go. Wake up and say goodbye to Mommy and Gabe."

Goodbye? Katrina didn't want to say goodbye! They just got here! "No, Daddy, let's stay here."

"Visiting hours are just about over, Princess. We got to go home and get some dinner."

Katrina looked up at her mother. "Mommy, can't you and Gabe come home?"

Alison shook her head. "No, sweetie, we have to stay at the hospital for a little longer."

"Why? Are you sick?"

"No, baby, we're not sick. They're just taking care of us here."

"We can take care of you at home."

Alison smiled. "Well I tell you what. I'll see if the doctor will let us go home tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," she said, disappointed. She wished Mommy and Gabe could come home now.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Rafe asked. He hated the thought of leaving her here for the night. It just didn't feel right.

"Rafe, I'm going to be fine. I've got plenty of doctors and nurses to look out for me and we're going to be just fine. I think we all just need a little sleep. You two go home and rest. Once this baby comes home, none of us are going to get any sleep anymore," she said with a laugh.

"Katrina's right, you know. We can take care of you at home."

Alison laughed. "I know. But good luck at convincing Dr. Meadows of that."

"Okay, I guess we should go. I am getting hungry." Rafe leaned down to give Alison a kiss. "You call me if you need anything."

"I will."

"Bye, Mommy," Katrina said, giving her mother a kiss on her cheek.

"Bye, sweetie. I love you."

"Bye, Gabe. I love you." Katrina gave him a kiss too. He was still sleeping.

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"Daddy, when will Gabe and Mommy get to come home?" Katrina asked as she picked up a slice of pizza and took a big bite.

Rafe carried his plate over to the kitchen counter and sat down in the barstool next to her. "My guess would be Sunday."

"Can we go see them tomorrow?" Katrina begged.

"Of course. I tell you what. Your mother hates hospital food. How about we go pick up breakfast in the morning and bring it to her?"

"Yeah!" Katrina liked that idea. "Hey, Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Can we have a party too? For when Gabe comes home?"

"I think that's a great idea."

"Me too! And can we have cake and balloons and party hats?"

"How about we finish eating this pizza first? Then we'll plan the party."

Katrina smiled. "Okay!"

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Katrina tossed and turned in bed. No matter what she did, she couldn't fall asleep. Finally, she got out of bed and walked down the hallway to her parents' room.

"Daddy?"

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither."

Katrina climbed up into bed beside her father. "I miss Mommy and Gabe. I want them to be home already."

Rafe completely understood. He wished Alison and Gabe were home as well. "I know, Princess. Me too."

"Why do they got to be at the hospital, Daddy? They're not sick. The hospital is for people that are sick and hurt."

"Well, sometimes when babies are born, they can get sick, and sometimes the mom gets sick too. So the hospital has a rule that says moms and babies have to stay close to the doctors and nurses, just in case they need them."

"Mommy's not going to get sick, is she?"

"No, I don't think so Princess. I think she and your brother will be just fine."

Katrina rested her head on her mother's pillow. The pillow smelled like Mommy's hair. She loved the way Mommy's hair smelled. Kind of like flowers.

Rafe, wide awake, watched his daughter in the moonlight. He could tell she was just as wide awake as he was. That was it, he decided.

Rafe sat up, giving Katrina a smile. "Go get your shoes on, Princess."

"Are we going to go see Mommy and Gabe?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, because I have a feeling they miss us just as much as we miss them."

"YAY!" Katrina ran out of the room and down the hallway to her room.

Rafe got out of bed and laughed. He wondered why he didn't think of doing this sooner.

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In all of her years as being a nurse, Colleen had just about seen it all. And now, she was about to see everything. She looked up as the elevator doors opened and out stepped a father and daughter, in sweats and pajamas.

Colleen hated to do this, but she knew she didn't have a choice. She quietly walked over to them.

"Rafe, what do you think you're doing?"

Rafe turned around. "Oh, hey, Colleen. How are you?"

"Don't 'Oh hey, Colleen' me. Visiting hours are long over."

"But aren't you a little more flexible on the maternity floor? I mean, babies come into the world at all times of the day, not just during visiting hours. And they let me stay overnight last time."

"Look, if you want to stay overnight, that's fine. The fathers are welcome to stay. But I'm afraid the hospital has a strict policy about children."

"Oh, but she won't be any trouble, Colleen. She just wants to see her mother and her new baby brother. We both do."

"Rafe, I understand, but hospital policy says…"

"She's not sick if that's what you're worried about. And she'll be very quiet. Won't you, Katrina?"

"I can be quiet as a mouse," Katrina whispered.

"Please, Colleen. Let us stay. Please," Rafe begged.

Colleen hesitated. She hated being put into situations like this. "I could get into trouble for this."

"I don't want you to get in trouble, Colleen. But can't you just like, pretend you never saw us?"

Colleen sighed.

Katrina tugged on Colleen's nurse scrubs. "Please, Colleen. I want to see Mommy and Gabe."

Colleen gave in. How could she say no to that face? "There's an extra cot in Alison's room. But don't let me see you out in the hallways."

Rafe grinned widely. "Thanks, Colleen!"

Colleen gave him a smile, then walked back to the nurses station.

"Come on, Princess, let's go see Mommy."

Rafe held Katrina's hand as they walked down the hallway. He opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake up Alison in case she was sleeping. But just as he suspected, she wasn't.

"Rafe, is that you?"

"Yeah."

"And me too, Mommy!" Katrina whispered.

Alison laughed as Rafe and Katrina walked over to her bed. "What are you two doing here?"

"We couldn't sleep," Rafe said.

"And we missed you and Gabe." Katrina climbed up into bed with her mother.

Alison wrapped her arms around Katrina and kissed her cheek. "Well I missed you too."

Rafe leaned forward and kissed Alison. "How are you?"

"Good."

"And the baby?"

"He's sleeping." Alison nodded over to the baby bed next to hers. "You want to sleep too, baby doll?" she asked, looking down at Katrina, whose eyes were half closed.

Katrina mumbled and nuzzled closer to her mother.

Rafe moved to get a closer look at the baby. "Has he been sleeping for long?"

"Probably for about twenty minutes. Move that cot over here." Alison pointed to the extra cot against the wall.

Rafe moved it next to Alison's bed, making one large bed for the three of them.

"I'm so glad you came," Alison whispered. "I couldn't sleep at all."

"Neither could we," Rafe said with a laugh, kissing her one more time before they finally all drifted off to sleep.