On the day of the appointment Catherine woke up and Steve was no longer in bed. She found him in the kitchen preparing coffee and he was dressed to go out.
"Steve, today is the day of my appointment. Did you forget?" she asked a little disappointed.
"No, Cath. I haven't forgotten and I'm ready to go."
Catherine smiled. "But the appointment isn't until ten o'clock."
"It's because I'm anxious," he replied and hugged her. "I'm wanting to know who's in there."
Catherine kissed him softly. "I hope we can find out today."
"I'm going to take Don to school, and then I'll be back so we can go to the appointment," Steve told her.
"All right," she replied.
At ten o'clock in the morning Steve and Lyla were in the office with Catherine. The doctor was doing the ultrasound and confirmed that everything was fine with the baby. "Do you guys want to know the sex of the baby?"
"Yes, please," Catherine asked.
"It's a little girl."
Steve smiled at Catherine and then looked at Lyla. "It's Liz, Lyla."
Lyla was happy and even danced. "It's Liz!"
Catherine was thrilled and smiled at Lyla's reaction. "It's Liz, honey."
"Daddy, you have to give me a bike."
"I know, honey. We're going to buy the bike and we're also going to buy Liz her first little clothes," Steve said. He wanted Catherine to feel happy.
A few hours later they arrived home and Lyla came in screaming for Carol. "Carol! Carol!"
"What is it, Lyla?" Carol came out of the room to find out what was going on.
"The baby is Liz and I got a bike and candy."
"Cool," Carol replied. She was jealous of the baby.
Two months later...
One Saturday morning, Steve and Catherine left the doctor's office devastated. The doctor had changed all of Lyla's medications and told Steve that surgery was inevitable in three years at the most.
"Daddy, are you sad?" Lyla asked when they were already in the car.
"No, honey. Daddy just has a headache," Steve replied.
Catherine put her hand on his shoulder as a sign of support. "We're going to beat more this situation, Steve."
Steve pulled her closer and hugged her. Catherine stroked his back. "Do you want me to drive?" she asked.
"Thanks for being here for me, I don't know if I could get through all this without your support."
Catherine kissed him softly. "You don't have to thank me for this. I love you and I'll always be there for you."
"I love you too," he replied and got out of the car so that she could take over driving.
"I love you too, Mommy," Lyla said.
"Love you too, little angel," Catherine replied to Lyla.
Catherine drove them home and when they entered the house Don and Carol were sitting on the couch with an envelope in their hand. Steve looked startled at them. "Cath, can you take Lyla outside, please?"
"Why?" Catherine asked without understanding the facial expressions of the three. Don and Carol looked angry and Steve was scared.
"Please," Steve repeated.
Catherine held Lyla's hand. "Let's walk down the street a little bit, honey?"
"Why did you always lie to us?" Don said to Steve.
"You have no right to come into my room and go through my things," Steve was firm with them.
"And you had no right to keep it from us," Carol replied as she held Lyla's DNA test in her hand.
"And you wanted me to tell you that your mother was a traitor, who humiliated me in front of all the people who know me? I recognized Lyla as my daughter and I don't regret it. It's not her fault that her mother was a... " Steve interrupted his sentence and took a deep breath. "It's not Lyla's fault at all, she's your sister and I love her. I have taken care of her since she was born and it doesn't matter that she doesn't have my blood, she is my daughter."
"Lyla has to go live with my grandmother and I've already told Grandma everything," Don told Steve.
"No, Don. Tell me you didn't do this," Steve was nervous because what he feared most had happened.
"I did, you tricked Grandma too."
Steve stepped closer and pointed his finger at Don and Caroline. "You two had no right. I'm raising two snakes!"
Steve left the house and went after Catherine and Lyla who were in the street. They were almost at the end of the street and he walked quickly to them. Catherine could tell from a distance that he was nervous.
"What happened, Steve?" She asked as he approached.
"Cath, they want to end my life."
"Who?"
"Don and Caroline. They broke into our room, went through the closet, and found the DNA test." Steve took Lyla on his lap and hugged her. He couldn't hold back the tears.
"I'm going to ask them not to tell anyone," Catherine tried to soothe him.
"They've already told Margaret."
"Why are you crying, Daddy? Does your head hurt?" Lyla asked.
"Yes, dear. My head hurts a lot," Steve replied to the little girl.
Lyla kissed his forehead. "Have you gotten better, Daddy?"
"Yes, honey." Steve stroked her hair.
"Let's go home," Catherine told him.
"I don't even feel like going back to that house, Cath."
"You need to rest, it's been a very tense day."
They went home and Steve went with Lyla and Catherine to their room. Catherine gave Lyla's toys for her to play with and then tried once again to reassure Steve.
"My kids hate me, Catherine."
Catherine massaged his back.
"I can't lose Lyla, it will kill me."
"She's listening, Steve..." Catherine whispered to him.
Lyla continued to play and Catherine felt relieved.
Half an hour later...
Catherine walked down the stairs and stopped in front of Caroline and Don, "Now the talk is with me."
PS: Thank you for your review in the previous chapter.
