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"You're actually alive." Lana whispered as she followed Kit and Jude inside the house. "I was right? How long did you know about this? When I went back to try and get you out, they told me you were dead, but I knew they were lying."

Kit interrupted her vomit of questions as he closed and locked the door. "Howard declared her dead. He knew people would look for her, and he was too selfish. He wanted something he shouldn't, couldn't if the truth got out." He motioned to the table for Lana to sit before helping Jude grab a couple glasses from the cupboard. "When I found Jude, she. . ."

Jude saw his frown deepening by the second thinking about when they first met again. She hardly remembered it, but she remembered she was always happy to see him after that. She reached up and caressed his cheek. "I wasn't well. I was completely shut down. Most would've said my mind was fried and been done with it, but Kit kept coming back."

"Until I could get ya out." Kit reached up and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. "Best decision I evah made." He ushered her to the seat opposite Lana at the table before sitting in the chair between them and filling the three glasses with Lana's whisky. "Jude's been here for a little over two years now."

"So, the girlfriend that moved in with you was actually Sister Jude?" Lana asked, putting the timeline together in her head. "You actually lied about having a girlfriend all this time just so I wouldn't find out about Sister Jude."

Kit slid them their glasses. "Well first, she ain't no sister anymore. Secondly, I lied about when she got here because ya were asking about coming to stay a couple days, and I knew I couldn't let ya do that. But, I didn't lie about having a girlfriend." He smirked over at Jude. "She'd be my wife if she'd say yes one of these times."

Jude chuckled, rolling her eyes as she lifted the glass to her lips. "If that's yar way of asking, yar getting worse at this."

"But," Lana frowned, glancing between the two. "You're old enough to be his mother."

"Oh, I've told him that." Jude stated after taking a sip, closing her eyes at the burning left behind in her throat. "Hasn't deterred him. Honestly, the whole 'I was a nun' was a bigger hurdle than the age."

Kit smiled. "That wasn't much of a hang up either." He shrugged looking back at Lana. "We've never had issue with it. And, we're happy together. We go on dates, hang out with our friends at the bar when the kids are at sleepovers. We have made strides together. I've gotten her more comfortable as herself and she's been taking care of me and the kids and makes me feel like a million bucks. Oh, and she's teaching us how to dance. I can't keep up with her on a dance floor."

Jude laughed. "Wiped the floor with Charlie and ya last Friday night."

"So after everything we'd been through together at Briarcliff, you two have managed to gain normalcy and have a relatively domestic lifestyle?" Lana's question would feel like an insult to most, but the two knew the majority of people who left Briarcliff had not been so lucky.

"Pretty much." Jude glanced over at Kit. "We still have our struggles. I don't think any of us got out of there without problems, but we do much better together." She turned towards the hallway when she heard a door creak. "Alright, hands up. Who's out of bed?"

Julia stepped out of her room, smiling softly. "Me. Daddy forgot my glass of water."

"Well, come on. Let's get ya yar water and back to bed." Jude winked back at her. She downed the rest of her whisky before standing up and heading for the cupboard. "Look who came out early for your birthday."

"Lana!" Julia gasped before running over to her, giving her a hug that could choke a bear.

Lana chuckled. "Hey Julia! You're getting so big. I need to visit more often apparently. You'll be taller than me if I stay away any longer." She pulled back to study the girl's face. "Two eyes, a nose, ears, lips. You look the same."

Julia giggled taking her glass of water from Jude. "I always have all those things."

Jude grinned. "Why don't ya go climb back in bed, baby? I'll come tuck ya in soon." She smiled watching Julia bid Lana and Kit goodnight before heading back down the hallway. She pushed her chair back in before looking at Kit. "I think I'm going to bed too. What time is Rob coming in tomorrow? Should I change the alarm?"

"No, he won't be in until ten." Kit shook his head. He smiled when she leaned over and pecked his lips. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay, baby." Jude gave a brief smile to Lana. "Goodnight."

Lana smiled back. "Goodnight, Jude." She waited until Jude was down the hall and into Julia's room before turning her gaze to Kit. "You and Jude? Really? After everything she did to you, how did that happen?"

"If ya knew what she had been through before we met her, ya'd understand. I'm the first person in her life to really love her other than her parents, maybe. I forgave her of everything when I saw what Howard had put her through. Helping her heal helped heal me. I grew to understand her as the nun we knew when she told me about her life, her past. Everything that had been taken away from her when all she wanted was a family." He shook his head. "I'd give her the world if I could, would give her a baby if someone hadn't taken that chance away from her. When I brought her here, I had no idea. As I got to know her and see the real her, I couldn't stop thinking about being with her."

Lana smiled softly, relaxing back into her chair. "So, tell me how you two got together."

Kit chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I'd been wanting to be with her for a while. Came home one day for lunch and found her all gussied up. She was gorgeous, and I knew she only dressed up when she went into town to run errands or if we went out with the kids for pizza. So, I questioned her. Told me she had a date." He smirked, staring down into his glass. "I followed her around the house like a puppy asking her about the guy and telling her he wasn't good enough for her. When she had enough, she snapped at me. Instead of backing off, I did the opposite. I kissed her."

"Wow." Lana glanced back down the hallway. "I'm surprised she let you do that."

"Oh, she pulled away and slapped me for it." Kit laughed before downing his whisky and reaching for the bottle to refill his glass. "But, I told her what I wanted. Showed her that I wanted her despite what she thought. I guess she had thought about it too, because she agreed." He shook his head. "Wasn't until after all that she told me Thomas had asked her out on a date."

Lana giggled, holding out her glass when Kit offered to fill hers up again. "Like father, like son." She rested her head on her hand, propping her elbow on the table. "Why didn't you tell me she was alive? You knew I went back to find her."

Kit's jaw clenched for a moment, but he knew Lana saw it. "I saw yar special, where ya had filmed her." He shook his head. "I love ya, Lana, but when I found out ya didn't get Jude outta there right then and there. . .I couldn't believe it. I knew that if ya evah found her ya'd wanna get her story in writing, on film. And, she doesn't want that. Even hearing yar voice on the phone, like earlier today, she goes into this dark place in her mind where she feels like she's not deserving of everything she has right now. If I'm honest, it's us that don't deserve her." He swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "So, I kept ya away for Jude's peace of mind. I kept ya away, because I don't want ya to take Jude away from me, from my family. So if ya stay, Jude can't be yar story."

"I promise, Kit." Lana nodded, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm. "I won't write a word about her. Does she really get that upset when I call?"

"She feels bad about everything that happened." Kit sighed. "What she did wasn't right, by any means, but she feels like everything that happened to ya is her fault. She unknowingly let a killer loose on ya."

Lana bit her lip. "I did blame her at first, but it's not her fault that happened. Everything and everyone she held so close ended up being turned on her. That's why I promised to come back for her. She'd done some shitty things, but I found she wasn't a bad person."

"My goodness, Julia, yar driving me up the wall." Jude groaned as she came back out with Julia resting on her hip. She saw Kit's concerned expression and rolled her eyes. "I filled the wrong glass with water. Forgot the kids have their own cups now."

"I'm driving you up the wall?" Julia giggled as she watched Jude grab a glass.

"Up the wall." Jude chuckled.

Julia looked up before pointing. "What about up the wall into the attic?"

"Yes, into the attic." Jude agreed with a nod, handing the full glass to Julia to carry. She stopped by the fridge and caught Kit's attention. "That reminds me. We need to clean out the attic. Some of Thomas's clothes that don't fit him anymore I promised to Francis."

"Lockhead's wife?" Kit asked.

"Is that his nickname? I couldn't think of it. How did he get it anyway?" Jude rested her head on Julia's when her head fell to her shoulder.

Kit smirked, lifting his glass to his lips. "Ya don't wanna know."

Julia nestled herself further into Jude's neck as best she could with the water in her hands. "Hey Jude, do I drive you up onto the roof?"

Jude chuckled, caressing the little girl's back. "Yar daddy won't let me up on the roof. He's worried I'll get hurt, because he's overprotective." She grinned seeing Kit's frown. "Just like ya and Thomas, I'm apparently too distracting to be up there with him."

"That I can agree with." Kit mumbled. "It's a miracle I get anything done. Now, get to bed. Even Jude and I are about to go to sleep. Yar aunt Lana will be here for the next few days, so ya'll have tomorrow after school and Saturday to play with her." He stood from his chair, leaning over to kiss Julia's cheek. "Ya better dream too, because I want a report at breakfast."

"Okay, Daddy." Julia giggled.

Kit was about to lean over and kiss Jude but was stopped when she turned to head back to Julia's room. "Hey," she turned back to look at him, "what am I? Chop liver?"

Jude rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a baby. I'll see you in two minutes." She smiled before pecking his lips, patting his cheek softly afterwards. "Bring Lana's bags in before ya come to bed. Lana, I hope ya don't mind the couch. We could get ya one of kids' beds tomorrow night."

"The couch is fine, Jude." Lana smiled, standing from her own chair. "Thank you though." She watched fondly as the older woman walked away with the sleepy child before meeting Kit's eyes. "You need to marry her."

"I've been trying." Kit stated. "I've proposed about fifteen times."

Lana's eyes widened. "Fifteen times? Honey, you're really bad at this. How are you asking her?"

Kit blushed, grabbing their empty glasses from the table. "Before or after sex." He crossed his arms over his chest when Lana started laughing. "What? It's usually the only time we have alone together. Any other time, the kids are around. We're at the shop or the bar. It'd be weird if I asked her in public without a ring."

"You don't have a ring yet?" Lana's eyes widened.

Kit sighed. "I've got money saved, but Jude and I agreed we're saving for a car. We want to take the kids places outside of this small town. Plus, it's not the best being one of the town mechanics who doesn't have a car." He shrugged his shoulders. "I just want to give her the best. Don't get me wrong. We're happy with how things are. Love my job. We love this place. But at this rate, it feels like I'll nevah be able to get her a ring."

Lana bit her lip, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I could help." She saw Kit about to protest, so she cut him off before he could. "Consider it an early wedding present. C'mon, you took in Jude and took care of her, and now she's made you the happiest I've ever seen you. It would make me feel better. Plus, it would help let Jude know there's no hard feelings. No need to feel guilty when it comes to me."

"I can't let ya do that, Lana." Kit sighed, shaking his head.

"Yes, you can." Lana breathed. "Let me get you guys a car. You can get the ring all on your own, but let me help you with the car. It'd be a present to me too, because you'd be able to come visit me if you had a car. You could have a car here tomorrow night. There's a car lot here in town. Please, just let me do this for you guys."

Kit exhaled slowly, closing his eyes as he smiled. "Alright, Winters, I give. Ya can come into work with me tomorrow morning, and we'll head over to the lot. But, I want to surprise Jude with it when I bring it home." He grabbed the whisky bottle, recapping it and sticking it in the fridge. "Jude will probably be by the shop around lunch anyway, so ya can hang out with her tomorrow afternoon if ya want."

Lana frowned as Kit headed for the front door. "Why would she come to the shop for lunch?"

"Oh," Kit grinned, "ya'll find out."

"Yar still up?" Kit murmured softly as he slipped into the bed, seeing Jude's eyes even in the darkness. "Something wrong?"

"Just wondering what the two of ya are up to." Jude smiled softly, resting her head on his chest when he opened up his arm for her to scoot closer. She sighed contently when his arm wrapped around her, his hand coming to rest on her hip. "She didn't seem upset with me."

Kit leaned down and kissed her head. "She's not. She doesn't blame ya for what happened at all, darlin'. In fact, she was really happy to see ya." He held her tighter. "And, she promised no reporting. This is only personal. So, ya don't have to worry. I think she's looking forward to spending some time with ya tomorrow. She's coming with me to the shop in the morning, but I told her she could hang out with ya after lunch."

Jude frowned before propping herself up to meet Kit's eyes. "Why is she going with ya to the shop?"

"She just wants to spend time to catch up." Kit tried to say it nonchalantly, but the narrowing of his girlfriend's eyes told him he didn't do a good job of it. "Look, it's a surprise. She wants to do something special for ya. We both do. So, she's coming with me so we can get it ready."

Jude nearly launched herself before straddling him. "A surprise? The last surprise ya had for me included two metal balls and me nearly fingering myself in the bathroom thinking about how ya were going to rail me that night. What on Earth are ya trying to do to me now?"

"Nothing like that this time." Kit chuckled, resting his hands on her hips. "Just forget I said anything. I'm not telling ya. Ya just have to wait until tomorrow night, probably late after the kids go to bed." He grinned when she went as far as to pout out her bottom lip. "Darlin', I'm afraid I've corrupted ya. Nevah would I think I'd have to remind ya to be patient. I know ya don't like going to bed alone, but it's one night."

"Ya've spoiled me. Who evah knew I'd be one of those women who couldn't sleep without their man?" Jude huffed out, sighing as his hands captured hers and intertwined their fingers together. "Thank ya for letting Lana come. I know ya were against it."

Kit sat up, pulling her closer as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I'd do anything for ya, Jude." He smiled when her eyes caught another wave of mischief. "Except tell ya what yar surprise is." He chuckled when she rolled her eyes. When her hands pulled from his, he figured she'd fling herself to the other side of the bed knowing she wouldn't get it out of him. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nearly melding herself to him. He wrapped his own arms around her, holding her tight feeling as if she needed it in this moment. "Ya know I love ya more than the world. I wouldn't change us for anything."

"That's part of why I love ya so much." Jude breathed, only pulling back enough to kiss his temple. She met his eyes with a soft smile, running her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck. "What a night, huh?"

Kit huffed out a breath, grinning himself. "Yeah, I had other plans for it. Was looking forward to that full body inspection I had ya scheduled for." His hands traveled south before palming Jude's ass with no hesitation. "After all, I can't let my girl go around without me making sure her framework is, what did you call it, a brick house." The mischief on his face only made Jude giggle into his mouth as he kissed her. "Ya have no idea how much I wanted to take ya against that car tonight."

Jude gasped quietly when he started rocking her body against his, eyes slipping shut feeling his hardness against her heat. "Oh, I caught yar drift when ya pinned me to the fridge." She cupped his jaw in her hands, breath hitting his face as he took control of them both for the moment. "Kit, baby, Lana will hear us."

Kit reached down and freed himself from his pajama pants, whispering against her lips. "Not if we're really, really quiet."

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