Chapter 223

A day and a half later Kate was starting to feel more like herself again. She wasn't in a lot of pain anymore and not taking pain meds was getting easier. Sara was treating her like a princess and she was starting to enjoy it.

"Hey look at you… all glowing" smiled Sara putting a cup of morning coffee and a muffin on the nightstand next to Kate.

"I feel about a million times better"

"Did you sleep well pumpkin?" asked Sara kissing Kate on the lips.

"I did thanks bub… do you guys still have the day off. I'm so fucking sick of being holed up in here the entire day" said Kate

"We do. And you've been a really good girl. What do you want to do? I'm all yours" said Sara.

"Mmmm – I have to still take it easy. Don't want Sax flipping her lid"

"I just don't want you ending up in hospital again"

"Okay…. Point taken"

"Picnic in the park?" asked Sara kissing Kate again.

"Sounds lovely" said Kate and pulled Sara closer for a deep kiss.

"Sax said no sex 'till your stitches comes out" Sara breathed into Kate's mouth.

"For me maybe… but I'm free to please you" Kate laughed seductively and took Sara's breasts in her hands.

"Fuck how I've missed these" she sighed.

"Yeah I knew you were really sick when you didn't even make an attempt to touch my boobs for the last 5 days" laughed Sara.

"Yeah… I was" said Kate with a mock sulky voice.

"Oh you poor baby… let me make you all better" said Sara through kisses and pulled her shirt off.

"Have mercy! I feel better already" laughed Kate. She grabbed Sara's ass and pulled her closer for a kiss.

-o-

"Boo boo… I love you. You were so sexy in that interview yesterday. I swear I was wet and throbbing just watching you" said Lindsey lying in Tegan's arms and making little circles on her tummy with her forefinger.

"Ooohh were you now? Last night was just a teaser" said Tegan and leaned over Lindsey to kiss her.

"Where are the kids?" asked Lindsey, trying to catch her breath through kisses.

"Kirsten… lounge" mumbled Tegan through kisses.

"I love you… I want you… God you're sexy" whispered Lindsey.

Tegan let out a soft moan when she felt Lindsey's hand slowly enter her folds and her lips gently caressing her nipple.

"Shhhh…. Keep it down" whispered Lindsey and softly giggled.

Tegan ran her hands up and down Lindsey's back. She heard one of the kids scream.

"Shit" Tegan mumbled. The crying continued.

"I better go check" said Lindsey.

"Kirsten's there" mumbled Tegan kissing Lindsey's collar bone.

"Mmmm" Lindsey sighed. The kids kept crying, one of them seemed to be screaming.

"Dammit" Tegan exclaimed and jumped up.

"What the fuck is she doing?" she mumbled as she pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. She stormed out of the bedroom.

"Kirsten, is everything okay in here?" Tegan asked.

"Yeah um… Casey bumped her head on the coffee table and now everyone is crying" Kirsten said looking flustered with Casey in her arms.

"Casey baby… come here angel. Mommy's here, do you have a boo boo? Oh my sweet cheeks it's okay" Tegan cooed while rocking Casey to soothe her.

"Jeez it's a massive bump, what happened?" Tegan asked, she looked concerned but not panicky.

"I um… they're all over the show Tegan. It was an accident" said Kirsten.

Kate came into the room. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Casey bumped her head, the rest are crying in sympathy" said Tegan.

"Kirsten get some ice" said Kate.

"Do you think…. Uh… Jeez Kate do you think it's serious?" asked Tegan paling instantly.

"Probably not but making sure won't hurt" said Kate inspecting the growing goose egg on Casey's forehead.

"Oh my god… Casey!" exclaimed Lindsey.

"It's okay Linds… take Ryan" said Tegan.

"Bring her into our bedroom. The rest of you stay here please" said Kate.

Tegan carried a still crying Casey into the bedroom and sat down on the bed with her.

Kate took a small torch from her bag and checked Casey's pupils. This made her even more furious.

"Pupils are even and reactive. Okay sweetie… I know it's not nice" said Kate as she gently felt around the bump on Casey's head.

Tegan was shaking now and started to wheeze.

"Its okay mommy, everything looks okay right now. Just a bit of a bump. Come here snookums" said Kate and took Casey from Tegan.

"Deep breaths now Tee" said Kate calmly.

"I need… my inhaler" said Tegan getting up.

"Sit down Tegan…. Sara!" Kate yelled.

Tegan put her head in her shaking hands.

"Kate?" said Sara entering the room.

"Can you get Tegan's inhaler please?" Kate asked calmly.

"You sure… she's okay?" asked Tegan through wheezes.

"Yeah she's okay… I'll keep an eye on her. Oh look, somebody's giggling again" said Kate and tickled Casey's feet.

"Thank you… how did she let this happen?" said Tegan sounding upset.

"Accidents happen Tee…. That's how they grow up" said Kate.

Sara handed Tegan her inhaler and Tegan took two deep puffs.

"That's it buddy, feel better?" asked Kate with her stethoscope on Tegan's back.

"Uh huh" grunted Tegan.

"Alright, just keep taking nice deep breaths while I check little one's BP" said Kate.

Casey wasn't crying anymore, she was laughing at Tegan.

Kate put the paediatric BP cuff around Casey's calf.

"What are you laughing at monkey?" Tegan smiled half-heartedly, seemingly calming down slightly.

"Everything's fine. BP's 95 over 60" said Kate.

"Oh my God that's low! That's too low Kate" Tegan was freaking out again.

"No relax Tee… this is perfect BP for a toddler. It's normal! It's supposed to be lower than adult's" said Kate trying to calm Tegan down.

"I don't know… it sounds too low, it's too low, take her pulse, check her breathing, just… check… everything" Tegan rambled on like a steam train.

"Tegan just calm down, it's just a bump on the head" said Kate.

Tegan burst into tears. Casey was laughing a minute ago but burst into tears when she saw Tegan in tears.

"Don't worry Casey sweetie… it's okay" Kate tried to soothe Casey.

"Tegan, maybe you should wait outside" said Kate.

"No… No no no… check her heart and stuff…. Now! She could have internal bleeding!" said Tegan pacing around.

"Tee… she's okay. I think it's time for one of your anxiety pills" said Kate.

"No… just… help her Kate, help her!" Tegan cried.

"Okay… Tegan sit down and take a nice deep breath bud" said Kate.

Lindsey came in with an icepack wrapped in a towel.

"Hi snookums… She okay?" she asked running her fingers through Casey's dark hair.

"Yeah she's just fine" said Kate.

Tegan was still in tears and pacing around, she took another puff from her inhaler.

"Check the rest of her" Tegan cried.

Kate obliged to keep Tegan calm. Lindsey held the ice pack against the bump.

"Pulse is 95, completely normal. Respirations are 25, again, completely normal. Lungs and heart sound perfect" said Kate.

"Thank you" said Tegan and picked Casey up and hugged her tight.

"Looks to me as if it's all forgotten already" said Kate.

Tegan still wasn't calm and it was starting to upset Casey again.

"Come Casey, your breakfast is ready honeybun" said Lindsey and took Casey from Tegan.

"Please check her over" Lindsey whispered to Kate.

Tegan looked like an animal in a cage. She was jittery. She wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"Tegan sit down" said Kate and guided Tegan down.

"I'm okay… sorry I just got a big fright" said Tegan.

Kate gently took Tegan's wrist in her hand and checked her pulse. It was racing, Tegan's breathing was hard and fast.

"It's alright, Casey's just fine Tee… just a bit of a bump" said Kate smiling.

"I know… it's just that… if your kids get hurt… I… sorry I over reacted" said Tegan.

"Here you go… take an anxiety pill" said Kate.

"You think?"

"Yes Tegan… you need it" said Kate.

Tegan took the pill with a shaky hand and swallowed the pill with a glass of water Kate handed her.

"Now take deep breaths. It's okay… everything is okay, I promise" said Kate rubbing Tegan's back.

"Fuck… I'm sorry, you didn't need all that" mumbled Tegan after a few minutes on her back breathing deeply.

"It's fine Tegan. Don't sweat it. Feeling a bit calmer now?" asked Kate.

"Yeah… thanks. I haven't had a panic attack in ages" said Tegan.

"I know, these were special circumstances Tee. Trust me, I see parents having panic attacks very regularly, like daily. And they don't even have anxiety issues" said Kate trying to make Tegan feel better.

"Yeah but their kids were in serious accidents or they have cancer or something. Not a bump on the head" said Tegan looking embarrassed.

"It's okay Tegan… You're okay" said Kate putting her hand on Tegan's shoulder.

"Tegan… just go to your happy place" said Sara sitting down next to her sister.

"I was in my happy place. I was just about to fuck my wife when this happened" said Tegan seriously. She looked at Sara and both burst out laughing.

"Yeah our happy place got interrupted too" laughed Sara.

"Sara!" said Kate blushing.

"Oh relax Doctor" laughed Sara.

Kate just rolled her eyes as a smile lifted the one corner of her mouth.

"We're going to have a picnic in the park today. You guys want to come?" asked Sara.

"Sure… that sounds great" said Tegan.

-o-

A couple of hours later everybody was ready to leave the hotel room. Tegan and Sara's two assistants organised a fantastic picnic basket with plenty of treats. The kids were all in their strollers after their morning naps. They all wore sun hats and sunglasses.

"Trust your kids to actually wear sunglasses without trying to yank them off" laughed Kate.

"Coolness is in their genes okay" winked Sara.

It was quite a trek to get everybody downstairs and into the lobby where numerous security guards were waiting for them.

"Tell me they've given up" said Tegan pointing outside, hoping but not expecting to not see photographers.

"Tegan… ignore them. Walk past them" said Sara.

"They're going to follow us" said Tegan.

"So then let them. I don't care anymore, I want a semblance of a normal life" said Sara.

"Alright" said Tegan shrugging and pulling up an eyelid.

"Baby? You okay?" Sara asked Kate who looked a bit tired already.

"I'm okay sweets" Kate smiled.

"We'll take it slow alright, but you tell me if you need a rest" said Sara.

"Got it" said Kate and kissed Sara's knuckles.

"Mind if I push, helps a bit with the walking" said Kate next to Amelia's stroller.

The elevator dinged and Alex and Erin stepped out pushing Leah's stoller.

"Hey guys… okay here we go" said Tegan and walked towards the door. She felt her heart rate and breathing increase.

She stopped and took a deep breath.

"You okay Boo?" asked Lindsey.

"Yeah… I'm fine… fuck it, I will not let fear or anger win" Tegan whispered and pushed the stroller out of the door.

There were less paps than before but they were there. They shouted things at Tegan but she kept strolling. Whistling as she walked. It took every ounce of willpower to keep up her nonchalant act.

The paps eventually stopped screaming for Tegan and targeted the rest of the crew. Everybody just smiled and waved and walked towards the park.

The gang walked about 150 meters into central park when Sara yelled for them to stop.

"Guys can we do it here. Kate's taking strain" she said with her hand on Kate's back.

"Yeah of course, sorry slowpoke" Tegan winked and threw a large picnic blanket open under a tree before taking the twins out of their stroller. Kate sat down on a bench and took a deep, shuddering breath. Sweat beads were already forming on her forehead and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"You okay?" asked Sara.

"Sure, the walking just tired me out a bit" said Kate.

"You in pain?" asked Sara.

"Not too bad sweetie… promise" Kate lied, in reality she was in quite a lot of pain.

"Okay honey just relax. Do you need to lie down?" asked Sara.

"I'm okay for now thanks. Just need to catch my breath" said Kate.

The paps were obviously taking photos but they kept their distance and pretty soon Tegan didn't even feel their presence any more. She ran around on the grass pretending to chase the kids. Sara and Alex had since helped Kate onto the blanket and she lay staring at the leaves above her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" said Alex.

Kate laughed. "I was just thinking how my life has changed… four, five years ago when I was working in Manhattan I had no idea I would be this… domesticated, this happy. My life was work… surgery. Nothing much else mattered. I never even dared imagine this life" smiled Kate.

"I'm happy for you Kate" said Alex.

Kate smiled a sad smile. "Maybe if… if I wasn't that… obsessed… driven back then… then maybe Sam and I would have had a chance" Kate said.

"Tell me you're not going there please… forget about Sam. You know it wasn't meant to be. Anyway… if you weren't that driven you wouldn't be a surgeon right now. You knew what it took to get where you are right now and you did it" said Alex.

"Yeah I do but… I just feel as if I never even gave it a real chance" said Kate.

"You gave it so many chances Kate. You gave it all you had to give back then. Anyway, you know what… if Sam worked out there would be no Sara in your life right now" said Alex.

"I can't even imagine my life without Sara and Amelia" said Kate and let out a deep sigh.

"You see… everything happens for a reason" winked Alex.

"Do you miss work?" Alex asked.

"Mmm… sometimes… Okay yeah I do. But I love this. I feel a bit useless sometimes, sure… but I love it" smiled Kate.

"You should do something with all this time" said Alex.

"I'm finishing off a few articles for a variety of medical journals" said Kate.

"Nerd… I mean… do something for yourself… not something work related"

"Like what?" said Kate frowning.

"Dunno… you're a pretty good artist? Maybe you can draw or paint or write" said Alex. He knew his sister was multi-talented. She even won a state wide fiction writing competition in high school.

"I'm afraid that if I do… I won't want to go back to medicine" said Kate.

"Of course you will… you're a born surgeon" smiled Alex.

"I'm sure dad will be so happy to hear you say that" said Kate.

Alex just laughed. "Can I help you sit up so you can get something to eat? You've lost a few pounds in the last few days" said Alex.

"Oh alright then" said Kate and tried to sit up. Sara glanced over.

"No no relax, let us help you" she said.

"I'm fine" Kate complained.

"Let's keep it that way" said Alex with a raised eyebrow.

Sara kissed Kate softly on the lips, over and over. She didn't care that people were taking photos. She wanted the whole world to know that she adored Kate.

"Sara" said Kate softly and looked into Sara's chocolate brown eyes.

"I love you… I'm so happy you're in my life. Thank you" Kate said softly.

"Oh my God you know how to make me melt… I just turn to mush with you" laughed Sara and kissed Kate playfully.

"I love you too… thank you for loving me" Sara smiled and fed Kate a strawberry.

A/N: I know it's been ages since I've updated but work has been a real bitch and the rest of the time my social life's been taking over. Sorry! Also, I'm kind of unsure of what to do with the story next. Ideas are welcome! Hope you enjoyed the two chapters. Review please so I know I haven't lost you!