Chapter 220

Tegan walked into the hotel suite and stretched out her stiff back.

"Mommy's home" yelled Lindsey excitedly and the kids ran towards them in that awkward, off-balance way toddlers usually run.

"Hey monkeys… mwah!" said Tegan crouching down and kissing her children.

When she stood up Lindsey was right next to her and engulfed Tegan in her arms and just held her tight for a minute. Tegan breathed in deep to contain her emotions. This was where she belonged, where she felt save and loved. In Lindsey's arms.

"How's Kate?" asked Lindsey moving her head back and taking Tegan's face in both her hands.

"She's going to be okay. I think… if they can keep infection away. Worried about her hand though. Docs seem to think something's off" said Tegan.

"What is it?" asked Lindsey looking worried.

"I don't know… they're taking off the cast and doing some kind of treatment. Sara will phone with an update later" said Tegan.

"You okay? You look exhausted" said Lindsey leading Tegan to the couch.

"I'm okay… I just… let's just say it wasn't easy facing the ICU again" said Tegan with a sigh and put her head in her hand.

"Oh sweetie… I'm sure that must have been so traumatic for you" said Lindsey rubbing Tegan's back.

"It was but… you know what, I'm glad I did. I'm okay… I got through it. I'm not the one in that bed. Hopefully Kate will get out of there later today too" said Tegan.

"I'm proud of you" smiled Lindsey and kissed Tegan's cheek.

"Thanks Boo" said Tegan and moved away. She lay down on the couch, her head on Lindsey's lap.

"Your T-shirt is on the wrong way" laughed Lindsey while playing with Tegan's hair.

Tegan snorted. "Oh… was kind of in a hurry to get out of here last night" said Tegan.

"There's going to be a thousand pap pics of me looking like an idiot" said Tegan.

"Well you were wearing your jacket so hopefully it's not that obvious" laughed Lindsey.

"Or maybe I'll start a trend" laughed Tegan.

"Why don't you go take a nice, long shower? I'll call room service to bring up some breakfast and then you can take a nap. You look as if you need it" said Lindsey.

"I just want to hang with you guys for a while. I'll go take a shower soon" said Tegan.

Amelia pulled herself up against the couch and touched Tegan's face where it was resting on Lindsey's lap.

"Hey Amster… you miss you mommies? Come here sweetie pie" said Tegan and sat up. She took Amelia into her arms and gave her an engulfing hug.

"Mommy's going to be just fine sweetie. Maybe we can go see her later today or tomorrow. I love you, just as much as your mommies okay. Aunt Tegan's here. Don't be scared" cooed Tegan.

Lindsey smiled at her wife. She had never known this kind of loving, tenderness from an adult in her life as a child. She longed to have it but had to cope without it. This scene warmed Lindsey's heart and brought tears to her eyes.

"You teething sugar bum? Mmm let me have a look? Oooh looks like it. That one's going to come out super soon" said Tegan and hugged Amelia to her chest again.

"Here you go peanut… chew on this" said Lindsey handing Amelia a cooled chew toy.

Pretty soon the twins were all over Tegan too, not liking that all the attention was going to their cousin.

"Alright you two silly monkeys… come here" said Tegan and tickled the kids.

"You guys want to read a story? Yeah!" said Tegan picking up a book when the kids looked all excited.

-o-

"Can I get you anything angel?" asked Sara. Kate's cast had been removed and her hand and wrist was now being iced.

"No thanks… I'm okay" said Kate softly, she looked tired.

"Why don't you try and get some rest now, you look really tired" said Sara and kissed Kate's forehead and ruffled her hair.

"Okay… you should go back to the hotel and get some rest too" said Kate.

"I'm not going anywhere… not while you're in ICU at least" said Sara.

"Babe she should have sent me out of here long ago… she's just being difficult. Trust me I shouldn't be here" said Kate.

"Maybe… but still, I'm staying. I'll take a nap on the recliner. Only if you do" said Sara.

Kate shook her head but smiled. "I'm glad you're here with me" she said.

"Morgan! So the bone doc tells me you're gonna live" joked Sax walking into the room.

"Told you it's not a big deal" said Kate.

"Yeah well… rather safe than sorry" said Sax.

"Uh huh" grunted Kate.

"Why aren't you asleep?" said Sax crossing her arms.

"Hard to sleep when they're cutting a cast off you know" said Kate, not amused.

"Pleaaase move me out of here. Or at least get this catheter out, I beg you" said Kate as Sax listened to her chest.

"Lungs sound clear, sats are fine. We can lose the oxygen. Temp's still slightly elevated though. Kelly, get me another full blood panel please" said Sax to the nurse that just entered.

"Let's see what your infection count is doing. And let's lose the blanked for a while so you can cool down" said Sax pulling the blanket off and leaving Kate with only a sheet to cover her.

Kate sighed dramatically. "But I'm cold" she moaned.

"Stop being a baby Morgan. Do you want to get out of here or not? How's your pain?" asked Sax.

"It's fine… really" Kate lied. She had refused the last round of pain meds the nurse offered her, she was determined not to get hooked on pain meds again.

Sax of course could see right through her.

"Uh huh… I'll adjust your pain meds. Let me have a quick look at the incisions" she said and lifted the sheets. She gently pulled away the hospital gown Kate was wearing. Kate looked down but quickly looked away again as Sax inspected the wounds.

Kate was becoming teary and emotional. All of this really sucked, she hated every moment of it. She felt exposed and not in control.

"Hey it's okay sweetie" said Sara and softly kissed Kate's forehead.

"Looks absolutely fine to me. I did a great job with those sutures even if I have to say so myself" winked Sax.

Kate laughed through her building tears.

"Get some rest now, if your fever stays away and your blood work comes back better I'll move you to a normal post-op ward before lunch, and yeah, I'll even remove the cath. How does that sound?" said Sax with her hand on Kate's shoulder.

"Thanks… sounds good" said Kate calming down a bit.

Sara's cell phone buzzed silently.

"Sorry, I know… no phones in ICU" said Sara and left the room.

"Move me out now, come on Sax please" Kate asked with a puppy dog face.

"No" said Sax studying Kate's chart.

"Why not? I mean really…" said Kate before being cut off by Sax.

"You want to know why Kate? Because last night during surgery your BP suddenly dropped like a rock and you had a run of tachycardia"

"Oh" said Kate swallowing hard.

"I won't keep you in here longer than necessary"

"Okay… sorry for pushing"

"I have a consult in 10 minutes. I'll check in on you later kiddo" said Sax.

Kate nodded.

Sara came back into the room. "Sonia sends all her love and healing vibes" she smiled.

"Thanks. Sara, can I ask a favour?" said Kate.

"Of course, anything" smiled Sara squeezing Kate's hand.

"Please don't tell Sax about my history with pain meds"

"Oh… I thought she knew, why sweetie" said Sara looking confused.

"When all that happened… I… I was in the middle of my residency. I was having a really rough time with Sam and work was so, so hard. It was complicated… draining. I hardly ever had off time and when I did there was always some kind of drama with her. It obviously started getting to me and I didn't want Sax to think I couldn't keep up with the pace of the trauma team. Please Sar… her respect means the world to me" said Kate.

"I understand… but I think she would respect you just as much if she knew"

"I don't want her to know!" said Kate loudly, suddenly anxious.

"Okay… I promise. Will you be okay with the meds you're getting now?"

"Yes… If I only use it as prescribed I'll be fine"

"I'm going to make 100% sure you are" said Sara kissing Kate's fingers.

"Thank you baby. Sar… can we phone Amelia? She must miss us"

"Sure… but I thought we weren't allowed to use cell phones in here"

"Who's gonna know?" winked Kate.

"I though it will affect your monitor"

"Please… that's a big old story just to shut people up. This isn't an airplane"

"Alright… but after that, promise me you'll get some rest"

"Yeah… promise. I'm sooo drained, I need it"

-o-

The ringing of her cell phone startled Tegan and she answered after one ring.

"Sara" she said immediately, suddenly worried about Kate again.

"Hey Tee. We're just phoning to say that Kate's okay and to say hi to our little girl. The doctors seem to think her hand's going to be just fine, it was just a bit of fluid retention. They're leaving the cast off for a while and giving her some ice and ultrasound therapy for the swelling to subside. They say it's nothing to worry about. Sax was here again to check on her too, she says she's doing okay. Hoping to move her to a normal room around lunch time" said Sara.

"Oh thank god… that's great Sar. So, what did Sax say, did Dr Cooper fuck up?" asked Tegan.

"Huh? She didn't mention anything again… don't know"

"Oh… Okay. Glad to hear it's going okay. We'll come by during visiting hours this afternoon"

"That will be great, I'm going to try to get super girl here to get some rest this morning"

"Good! You should too. You hardly had any sleep last night"

"I will… anyway, most importantly, how's my little princess doing?"

"She's great. Lindsey says she's been no trouble at all. She's right here next to me, wanna say hi?"

"Yes! Thank you Tegan. Hang on let me put this on speaker so Kate can talk" said Sara. Tegan held the phone to Amelia's ear.

"Okay guys she's on" said Tegan.

"Amelia! Hey beautiful baby girl. We miss you. We love you so much" said Kate. Sara had since put the phone on speaker.

Sara's heart melted when she heard Amelia laugh on the other side of the line. Kate's smile went almost from ear to ear.

"Maamma, maaammma" blabbered Amelia. It was pretty much the only thing she could say yet.

"I love you… we'll be home soon okay" said Sara.

"Okay Sar, I'm going to have brunch and then we're all going for a nap" said Tegan.

"Okay thanks Tee, love you" said Sara.

"Love you too. Take care of Kate, and yourself" said Tegan.

"Will do… see ya Tee" said Sara and hung up.

"I miss her" complained Kate.

"I know poppit… you'll see her soon. Sleep now okay" said Sara.

"Okay… love you. Can you snuggle up next to me?" said Kate weakly.

"Sweetie I think I'm going to just sleep in the recliner. You still have a bit of a fever, you'll get too warm with me next to you. But soon, okay. Meanwhile… close your eyes now, I'm right here next to you. I'm not going anywhere okay" said Sara and held Kate's healthy hand in both of hers.

Kate's eyes slowly started to fall closed. Sara sat staring at her for a while, Kate's rhythmic breathing relaxing her. She couldn't help but gently touch Kate's cheek. She never thought it was possible to love a woman like she loved Kate.

"Sara" Sax whispered and touched her shoulder a few minutes later.

Sara was slightly startled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. You should get some rest" said Sax.

"I guess. I just can't stop looking at her" smiled Sara.

Sax just smiled as Sara sat down in the recliner. She pulled a blanket over Sara. "She's going to be fine Sara"

"I know… thank you" said Sara.

"Rest now" said Sax and dimmed the room lights before leaving the room.

-0-

Tegan sat back in her chair and rubbed her belly after a big brunch.

"That was amazing" she said and yawned.

"Go get some sleep boo" said Lindsey and kissed Tegan's temple.

"Alright… you joining me?" she asked.

"As soon as I've put the kids down for their nap" said Lindsey.

Tegan made her way to the bedroom, careful not to have the kids notice her leaving. She plonked down on the bed with a sigh. She was tired but still felt a bit of an adrenaline rush pulsing through her. She took a deep, shuddering breath and closed her eyes. She suddenly saw Sam in front of her, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. She swallowed hard. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so hard on her. Then again, Sam had a history of disappointing and hurting people. Tegan shook her head and turned on her side to get some sleep.

-0-

Alex stood at the nurse's station waiting for somebody to help him. He had no idea where to find his sister.

"Alex!" he heard Sax's voice behind him.

"Sax! Hi, how is she?" he said looking extremely nervous.

"She's doing well. Everything went fine and she's recovering nicely" said Sax.

"Thank you" sighed Alex and automatically pulled Sax in for a hug.

Sax sat him down and filled him in on all the details.

"I was so scared. And then my flight got delayed. We were stuck on the runway for two hours. I'm just so…. relieved. Thank you" said Alex.

Sax led Alex to Kate's room. Alex smiled when he saw Sara asleep in a recliner close to Kate's bed with her hand held high, entwined in Kate's. He sat down next to his sister.

"I'll give you some privacy. I have some post op paperwork to take care of" said Sax patting Alex's shoulder.

He nodded and gently touched his sister's hair.

"Don't scare me like that" he whispered.

Alex had been next to Kate's bed for about an hour when her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey sis" he smiled.

"Alex… what are you doing here?" asked Kate, still groggy and a bit pale.

"Checking on you silly. You scared me" said Alex with his hand on Kate's shoulder.

"Oh… Thanks. I'm okay though, really" said Kate.

"Yeah, you are… now" said Alex.

"Hope you managed to calm Mom and Dad down?" said Kate.

"It was tough… but I convinced them to stay in San Francisco. Dad had a long talk to Dr Sinclair, gave her the full twenty questions and Sax was able to convince him that you're fine. She had to email your entire chart over. Told him to call her personally for updates whenever he feels like it. They want to have a chat on Skype later today though, if you're up for it of course" smiled Alex.

"Sure… Thank you" croaked Kate. With that Sara woke up.

"Sorry sweetie, did we wake you up?" asked Kate.

"No my love… its fine" smiled Sara and kissed Kate's cheek.

"Alex hi! Thank you soooo much for coming" said Sara and walked around the bed to hug him hello.

"No problem Sar. My girls will be flying in later today" said Alex.

"Al, that's so not necessary" said Kate.

"I know… look, neither of us are working right now. We were itching to get out of the house anyway. A trip will be fun and Leah misses her aunts and her cousin…. So do we" said Alex.

Kate just smiled and shook her head, she knew she couldn't argue with her brother.

"How are you feeling tough guy?" asked Alex.

"Good… a lot better. Have you guys seen Sax, she needs to move me out of here already. And I really stink, I'd kill for a shower" said Kate smelling her armpit.

A few minutes later Sax strolled into the room.

"Oh great, Dopey's awake! How are you feeling?" she smiled.

"I'm fine… stomach's a bit… cranky but altogether not bad" said Kate.

"Okay… Apparently they'll leave the recasting until later today. Nurse says your BP is fine, so is your temp, blood tests came back relatively good so I'm going to make your day and move you to a normal post-op room" said Sax.

"Yes! Thank you" said Kate and started yanking off heart monitor leads.

"Easy there… the nurse will come do that" said Sax and stopped the code team at the door.

"She's fine… yanked off the leads, thanks" she said gesturing over her shoulder at Kate.

Kate blushed, she knew better than to pull leads off willy nilly.

"I'm so sorry, wasn't thinking" she mumbled.

"Moving you however, means that your guests will have to leave and come back during visitor's hours" said Sax.

"If it means she's closer to getting out of here it's fine with me" said Sara running her fingers through Kate's matted hair.

"Okay, I'll ask the nurse to give you a sponge bath first" said Sax.

"Oh hell no!" complained Kate.

"Your arm Morgan… you can't shower like that"

"I can… put it in an immobilizer?"

"Still… how will you wash your hair"

"Why don't you let me worry about that"

Sax put her hands in her sides and shook her head.

"Okay… alright… I'll ask one of the nurses to assist you. And I want you taking short walks soon okay"

"I'll help her with the shower" said Sara fast.

"Okay then… I'll see what I can do about that immobilizer. Not promising anything though" said Sax.

-o-

Sara led Kate to the en-suite bathroom of her very nice, new private room in the post op ward. Her arm was in a removable brace.

"You okay?" asked Sara with her arm around Kate's waist.

"I'm fine baby" said Kate.

"Let's get you into this weird shower" said Sara.

"I can stand and I can do it myself" said Kate.

"I know, but the nurses said it will be easier with the arm and all. And you still have a drain in. You can do it yourself next time" said Sara.

Kate sighed dramatically while Sara removed her hospital gown. Sara looked down at Kate's tight abdomen with three small dressings on it, covered with clear plaster. A drain poked out of one of the holes.

"Oh sweetie… it looks sore, it's bruised too" said Sara softly touching the healthy parts of Kate's tight abdomen.

"Don't touch me like that, you're making me horny" laughed Kate.

"Somebody's feeling better! Okay lover, get in the chair, that should cool things down"

Kate slowly and painfully sat down on the chair. Sara had since donned some plastic covers over her clothes and shoes.

"Look at you… Why don't you just get naked?" said Kate.

"Hmmm…. This is ridiculous" laughed Sara and started pulling her clothes off. She turned to the door and locked it before getting behind Kate with the removable shower head.

"Ahhhh" Kate sighed with satisfaction as the warm water pelted her aching muscles.

"Feel good baby?" asked Sara as she washed Kate's back.

"So good" murmured Kate as Sara continued to her arms and then slowly, her breasts. Her nipples instantly hardened as Sara's familiar hands moved over them. She felt too weak to do anything about it though but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Kate softly put her hand on Sara's and held it over her heart. "God you're beautiful, even when you're ill" smiled Sara putting her head next to Kate's and turning her chin. Drops of water still danced on Kate's eyelashes and slowly dropped down her nose. Sara could look at those eyes forever. Kate's beautiful green eyes were almost eclipsed by a large black disc, a combination of exhaustion, pain and arousal dilating her pupils. Kate just gave a tired smile. Sara moved on to her hair and massaged Kate's scalp after washing it. The conditioner smelled sweet and Sara took a deep breath of it with her eyes closed. Sara rinsed Kate's hair with the portable shower head, then her arms and back again.

"Are you okay to get up?" asked Sara softly in Kate's ear.

"Yeah" Kate whispered. Sara pulled her up and Kate winched.

"I'm so sorry baby… did that hurt?" asked Sara suddenly super worried.

"It's okay… just sensitive" breathed Kate through clenched teeth. She steadied herself against the wall with her healthy hand.

"Spread your legs"

Kate did as instructed and Sara started washing Kate's private parts. Kate gave a frustrated groan as her clitoris responded to Sara's soft touch.

"I'm sorry sweetie" Sara laughed.

"Don't be!" giggled Kate into Sara's neck.

"I don't want them to have to call the crash cart in here to resuscitate you" said Sara and sprayed Kate's face playfully with water.

"Oh you didn't!" gasped Kate.

"I'm gonna…. Ooohh ouch…. I'll get you back soon enough" said Kate and sat back down on the shower chair as her legs started to go wobbly.

Sara turned the water off. "You okay?" she whispered and kissed Kate's wet forehead. Kate put her hands on Sara's naked, but still relatively dry hips. "I'm okay because you're here" she said and put her cheek against Sara's belly. The feeling of soft skin on hers soothing her and making her sleepy.

"Let's get you dry and into bed" said Sara.

A/N: stay tuned for another chapter today