Chapter 175
"Sara?" yelled Kate carrying Amelia into the house. "Sar!" she said again. "Hey babe" said Sara from the kitchen. "Hey Amelia you little cutie" said Sara and kissed her laughing daughter hello. "Thanks for picking her up Kate. How did day care go?" asked Sara and kissed Kate. "Okay I guess… she did look ecstatic to see me though" said Kate. "Did you have fun honey bun? Did you see your friends?" cooed Sara. "I don't like the day care vibe" said Kate. "What do you mean? It's great. Am's happy" said Sara. "Yeah I just…." said Kate absentmindedly. "You're just being a mother honey" said Sara. "I had a lot of time to think Sara…. I think Amelia should go on tour with you" said Kate. "Oh…. Okay, what made you change your mind?" said Sara. "I was thinking that… she'd get more attention with you on tour than with me. I don't want to leave her at day care every day, with people she doesn't know. And I have no idea what I'm going to do with her during night shifts, I'm hardly ever home. It kills me to think about being without you guys for so long but I think its best" said Kate. "Sweetie… thank you… you're amazing. I don't know what we're going to do without you. You'll have to visit whenever you have more than 12 hours off" said Kate. "That doesn't happen a lot but yeah, trust me, I'm visiting every chance I get…. God I'm going to miss you" said Kate close to tears in Sara's arms. "It will be over before you know it. Tour schedule is much more chilled than normal this time. Lots of breaks in-between too" said Sara. "I don't want to let you go" said Kate still hugging Sara. Amelia started screaming. "Okay sugar lips… you think you're missing out on the fun here?" said Sara and picked Amelia up from her seat. Amelia soon had her hands all over Sara's face and Sara kissed her chubby cheeks. "Hey that's my girlfriend… I get to kiss her Ami" joked Kate and tickled Amelia. "Sar… I'm sorry I've been such a prick these last few weeks" said Kate softly. "You haven't been a prick" said Sara. "Yeah I have" said Kate. "It's okay… I understand" said Sara. Kate sighed and sat down with her head in her hands and rubbed her temples. "You okay? Katy?" said Sara. "Yeah… just had a really rough day at work" said Kate. "Want to talk about it?" said Sara. "No… I just want to go have a picnic outside with my two girls" said Kate. She got up and twirled Amelia around.
Tegan and Sara were due for some pre-recorded radio and TV interviews the next day, the day before the record release. "You ready for tomorrow? It's going to be a biggie" said Kate. "Yeah, I guess" said Sara absentmindedly. "My mom and dad will be here at 7am to look after Amelia for the day. I should be home early evening" said Kate. "Great… maybe they can meet up with Sonia and the twins to do something fun" said Sara. "I'll suggest that to them" said Kate.
Kate was playing with Amelia on the grass when Sara handed her a phone. "Tee's on the phone for you" said Sara. "What's up Teegs?" said Kate after taking the phone. "Tegan… slow down" said Kate. "She has a fever? How much is it?" asked Kate. "101 isn't that high Tegan but…. Okay Tee, I understand. Is she fussy?" asked Kate. "Clingy…. Okay… Tegan listen, it's probably just the teething but if you want me to come over and check her out I can?" said Kate. She subconsciously put her hand on Amelia's forehead to check her temperature. "I'll be there in five minutes Tegan… five minutes. Calm down" said Kate.
"What's up?" said Sara. "Casey has a fever. Not a particularly high one but of course, Tee's freaking out. They've been so lucky with the twins. Hardly ever had a case of the sniffles after their initial NICU stay" said Kate. "Can't she just give her some Tylenol like normal parents and leave us to have a nice dinner for the last time before the craziness starts?" said Sara. "Sar… come on… you would have been the same if it was your kid" said Kate. "I know…. We really can't afford the kids to be sick this week. It's crunch time" said Sara. "Let me just go over there to put her mind at ease" said Kate. "Sure… I'll bath Amelia in the meantime" said Sara.
Kate walked into Tegan's house, it was mayhem. Casey and Ryan were both screaming their heads off. "Heeey guys… hey, hey, heeeey what's going on? Why are you crying?" asked Kate and took Casey from Tegan. "I think crying is contagious. First Casey, then Ryan, then Lindsey and I'm damn closed to bursting out into tears myself" said Tegan. "Ryan okay?" asked Kate. "I think so, I think he's just crying because she is" said Tegan. "Hey Case…. Let's see what's bothering you" said Kate and took Casey into the bedroom. "Stay here with him Linds… they seem to be working each other up a bit" said Kate. "Okay" said Lindsey. "Take his temp if you get a sec" said Kate.
"Okay honey, shhhh! Kate's going to take good care of you" said Tegan very close to tears. Casey just screamed louder, her face red. Tegan removed Casey's shirt before Kate checked her temperature again. "Temps up a bit, 102" said Kate. "Oh God… is she okay?" said Tegan with her hand in front of her mouth. "Tee just calm down while we get to the bottom of this" said Kate. Kate put her stethoscope on Casey's chest. "Chest is clear" said Kate. "That's good right" said Tegan. "Yeah that's good" smiled Kate. "Did you give her any meds today Tegan?" asked Kate checking Casey's glands in her neck. "Um… a bit of Tylenol about 5 hours ago" said Tegan. "Glands aren't swollen" said Kate and put a latex glove on. She checked in Casey's throat with a light before putting her finger in Casey's mouth and feeling her gums. "Tonsils look fine. Yup, these gums are super swollen. You hurting sweetie pie?" cooed Kate. Kate took Casey's blood pressure and checked a few other things before turning to Tegan. "I'm pretty sure it's just the teething causing all of this but if it would give you peace of mind we can do a blood test" said Kate. "I don't want to hurt her but I want to make sure" said Tegan holding Casey close to her.
Casey seemed to be calming down a bit and wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs anymore but was moaning softly with her fist in her mouth. "After this you can give her a tepid bath and I'll leave you some medication. She's going to be fine Tee" said Kate. Tegan lay Casey down on the bed and wiped away her own tears. "Hey it's okay" smiled Kate and put her hand on Tegan's back. "I just hate seeing them hurting" said Tegan. "I know… Let's get these bloods out of the way so we can give her something to make her feel better" said Kate. Tegan held Casey on her lap as Kate put a tourniquet around her arm. "I'll have to be the bad guy here. Why don't you try and distract her with something Tee" said Kate. "She doesn't get distracted easily" said Tegan. "I came prepared, hey Casey look at this honeybun" said Kate and held a toy out in front of Casey. Casey was a bit calmer and Tegan held her arm while kissing her hair. Casey was soon pretty pre-occupied with the toy and Kate took the blood without much fuss, that's until she pulled the needle out and Casey started screaming her head off. "I'm sorry baby, who's a big girl. So brave" cooed Tegan. "I can't take it any more Kate, make it stop!" said Tegan bouncing Casey up and down. "Has she had anything to eat recently?" asked Kate. "No, I tried my best but she refuses" said Tegan.
"Okay, we'll just ask one of the security guys to run the blood down to the lab for us. Let's see if we can get you something nice. Something cool? Maybe a bit of banana and yogurt? And then we're going to give you some medicine that's going to make you feel a lot better cutie pie. Yeah… a lot better" clucked Kate. Tegan somehow managed to get some food into Casey and gave her a tepid bath before allowing Kate to give her some medicine and leave. "Good luck guys, try and get some rest. Big day tomorrow" said Kate. "Yeah…. Really big day. I don't think I'll be getting much sleep anyway – cranky baby or not" smiled Tegan. "You want me to give you something to relax you?" asked Kate. "No… can't be groggy when the kiddos need me" said Tegan. "Tee. She'll be fine. Hopefully she'll sleep well tonight after the meds" said Kate. "Yeah, and just when the one is better the next one starts" said Tegan. "I'll phone you with the blood test results as soon as I have them back" said Kate. "Thank you Kate… I know we kept you away from your family" said Tegan. "It's okay Tegan… It's what I do" said Kate and smiled.
A few minutes after putting Casey and Ryan to bed the doorbell rang. "Expecting someone?" asked Lindsey. "No… expecting my bed" said Tegan. "Maybe Kate forgot something" said Lindsey. Tegan opened the door. "Jeremy?" she said seeing Jeremy with her back towards her. "Hey Teegs… sorry for bothering you unannounced…. Um…" said Jeremy turning around looking down. "No no… come in please…. What's up Jer?" said Tegan. Jeremy looked up and revealed a badly bruised eye and a bleeding lip. "Jeremy! Oh my God what happened?" said Tegan freaking out, taking Jeremy's face in her hands. "Um… I'll tell you after an ice pack and a drink?" said Jeremy. "Get in here, sit down…. Fuck Jer… who did this?" said Tegan inspecting the damage. "Ice pack please?" asked Jeremy.
"Kate just left ten minutes ago but should I call her back?" asked Tegan. "No! I'm fine really, it's just a bruise" said Jeremy and held the ice pack Lindsey gave him to his eye. Tegan got the first aid kit and started cleaning his bleeding lip. She took his hands in hers and looked at his knuckles. It was clean, indicating that Jeremy didn't return the favour. "What happened Jer?" asked Tegan. "Jonathan and I broke up" said Jeremy. "Oh… I'm sorry to hear that Jer" said Tegan. "It's for the best…" said Jeremy. "What happened?" said Tegan. "He just lost his temper when we got the news that the latest round of in vitro didn't work. In hind sight I'm glad it didn't. I don't want to be with a man that hits somebody when they lose their temper" said Jeremy looking hurt. "So… it's over, over?" asked Tegan. "Yeah…. He just…. lost the plot these last few weeks. I can't…. I just can't go on. He…. he scared me today… It's over" said Jeremy. "I'll go get you a drink" said Lindsey.
"He hit you… that fucker hit you" said Tegan up in arms. "He didn't mean it…. he's got issues" said Jeremy with the ice pack on his eye. "What issues?" asked Tegan. "Insecurity, jealousy" said Jeremy. "Jealousy…. What does he have to be jealous of, you'd never cheat?" said Tegan. "Tee… he's jealous of…. of you okay" said Jeremy. "What do you mean?" said Tegan looking taken aback. "He's jealous of… um…. of our relationship… our friendship… our history... of the kids, of your family" said Jeremy. "Our kids?" said Tegan dumbfounded. "Tee… I'm going to be honest with you… don't fucking freak out now" said Jeremy. "What?" said Tegan. "He tried to push me into suing for custody" said Jeremy. Tegan jumped up and looked shocked. "He fucking what?" said Tegan. "Don't worry Tegan… I promised you I'd never do that to you" said Jeremy. "I can't believe that asshole" said Tegan and started biting her finger nail.
"Everything okay?" asked Lindsey walking back outside onto the patio with the drinks. "He… he…" mumbled Tegan with her hands in the air pacing around. "He what Tegan?" asked Lindsey. "He wanted Jeremy to sue for custody" said Tegan. "What the fuck" said Lindsey loudly. "Tegan no judge would give me these kids instead of you… he's delusional…. Fucked up. I obviously never considered it" said Jeremy. "Okay… calm down. He's out of your life now" said Tegan and took a large swig of her wiskey. "Yeah… He just needs to move out of my apartment now" said Jeremy. "You can stay here until he does. Mom's staying in Erin's pool house" said Tegan. "Thanks… I don't know how I'm going to get him out of there" said Jeremy rubbing his stubble. "We'll get our security team to kick him out if it comes to the push" said Tegan. "I don't want it to go that far… I don't think he meant to hurt me… I just…. I want to have an adult conversation with him… sort it out… and move on… in a dignified manner" said Jeremy. "Uh huh" said Tegan. "He's not normally like this Tegan… Something snapped…. I don't think he meant to hurt me. He didn't mean it" said Jeremy. "You know what you sound like Jer… like an abused wife. If he's done it once… he'll do it again" said Tegan.
Tegan patted Jeremy on the back. "I thought he was the one Tee… I wanted to share the rest of my life with him. I wanted to start a family with him… I can't help it, I still love him… I just can't do it, I can't stay with him" said Jeremy becoming emotional. "I understand" said Tegan and gave Jeremy a long hug. "Anyway, I'll sort out all this shit when we're done with the next few days" said Jeremy. "Jer… do you need to take some time off?" said Tegan. "No… I'm not dropping you guys now. Its show time baby" said Jeremy. With that Tegan's cell phone rang. "Kate" she said answering after one ring. "Yeah… and…. Oh thank God" said Tegan and gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks Katy… sorry again for dragging you out here in your home time" said Tegan. "What did she say?" asked Lindsey quickly. "She said that the blood tests came back clear. It's probably just teething, we just need to keep an eye on her temp. As long as it doesn't go over 103 she's fine" said Tegan. "Was she sick? Was Casey sick?" asked Jeremy sounding scared. "She had a fever earlier. She's okay now. Kate checked things out, gave her something to make her feel better, break the fever. Everything's fine Jer" said Tegan. "Jeez that just gave me the biggest adrenaline rush" said Jeremy. "I love how much you love them" smiled Tegan.
"Ready for tomorrow?" asked Jeremy. "Yeah… you are sure all those radio shows are pre-recorded right? Don't want anything going out before Wednesday" asked Tegan. "No interviews will be aired before that album hits the shelves and on Wednesday, guaranteed" said Jeremy. "Looking forward to the Ellen interview" said Tegan. "Yeah, should be fun" said Jeremy. "Another drink?" asked Tegan. "No thanks Tee. I'm going to drink an ibuprofen now and go to bed. You go get some rest now, busy day tomorrow" said Jeremy. "Thanks Jer… you've always got our backs. I always feel so safe when you're with us. So well taken care of. I mean we don't even have to think about a thing, you're always in control of everything" said Tegan. "Just doing what you pay me for" said Jeremy. Tegan stared at Jeremy for a minute. "You sure you're okay?" she asked softly taking Jeremy's hand. "I'm okay Tee… I'm sure" said Jeremy. Tegan took him into her arms and hugged him tight. "Love you bud… see you in the morning. Let me know if you need anything" smiled Tegan. "I know where everything is, not shy to help myself" said Jeremy. "Great, goodnight Jer" said Tegan. "I'm waking you up at 6 tomorrow" said Jeremy. "Ha, I think the two monkeys would have woken us all up by then… but nice try" laughed Tegan.
A/N: This chapter is for Evan, who's been begging me every day to update! Please keep the reviews coming guys!