The first evening in their new home was uneventful. The kids were sleeping and Tegan didn't notice her security guards anywhere as she sat on the porch overlooking the ocean. She knew they were out there somewhere but she tried to pretend they weren't.
Tegan rubbed her eyes and called Sara. She put her feet on the coffee table as she waited for Sara to answer.
"Hi Tee, sorry almost missed you" said Sara sounding out of breath.
"Am I interrupting anything?" said Tegan giggling.
"No! We were outside barbequing" said Sara sounding indignant.
"Suuuure" Tegan laughed.
"Grow up"
"Yeah yeah. So what's happening?"
"Not much. How's your vacation going?"
"So far so good, it's really beautiful here. Haven't explored much but the house is lovely"
"Nice. So want to tell me about Cam?"
"What?"
"Beth told me Cam was on your flight and that she really calmed you down. And then you guys hung out at the hotel and you took her for pie and…"
"You have her spying on me?"
"No… I just"
"Sara… relax. It's nothing. She helped me work through my fear and I felt I needed to… I don't know… thank her. For that and for saving my life"
"Okay, I understand that. Beth said she's coming to Provincetown. Big coincidence isn't it"
"You know maybe she thinks the same about me! She has family there Sara. She saved my life. She checks out"
"Calm down. I didn't say anything"
"You insinuated it"
"Why are you so defensive suddenly?"
"Are you jealous that I made a friend Sara? Is that it?"
"Don't be ridiculous"
"Well then, I guess it's my business if I see her or not"
"I just don't want you getting hurt"
"I'll be fine… thank you" Tegan snorted.
"Kate says hi" said Sara trying to change the subject.
"Tell her I say hi too. Miss her. When's she going back to work?"
"Monday. She's super excited, I'm dreading it"
"She'll be fine Sar"
"I hope so. She's not 100% yet, not even close but she doesn't listen to reason"
"Did Sax sign off on this?"
"Yes"
"Well then I'm sure she'll be fine. Sax won't let anything happen to Kate"
"I guess. Anyway, I'm going to let you go now Tee. It's late over there and you had a busy day. Go get some rest" said Sara.
"Okay Sar. I love you. Don't worry so much, about me… Kate"
"I'll try" Sara sorted.
"Love you brother"
"Love you too"
Tegan hung up and stared into the dark ocean. The sound of the waves not too far away was starting to make her drowsy. She opened her eyes slowly and imagined Lindsey standing in front of her. She knew it was her imagination but it felt so real.
"I miss you baby… god how I wish you were with us"
Tegan could actually feel her heart cramp with grief. She sat forward and put her head in her hands and wept.
A few feet away, hidden in the garden shadows, Beth watched Tegan break down. She swallowed hard to keep her own emotions in check. She didn't approach her, she knew that this was already an invasion of Tegan's privacy. She wasn't spying on her, she happened to do her hourly check around the house and saw Tegan sitting there.
"I'm so sorry Tegan" she whispered and reluctantly set off again.
-0-
The next morning
Kate stood in front of the giant hospital doors and looked up. She turned to Sara who was with her after taking her for breakfast a block away from the hospital. "Okay, here I go" Kate smiled half-heartedly looking pale.
"Like the first day of school huh"
Kate just laughed and took both Sara's hands.
"I love you, thanks for coming"
"I love you too. You're going to be so great. Go get 'em"
"Thanks babe, I hope you're right"
Sara took Kate's face in both her hands.
"I am right. Now go, you don't want to be late on your first day back"
"Don't think they'll even notice. I'm not allowed to set foot in the OR yet remember"
"Enjoy it while you can, take it easy"
"I will, better go then"
"Good luck hon, love you"
Kate swallowed hard. She was nervous as hell.
-0-
Three days later Tegan and the kids still hadn't gone further than the yard of the house. They were having a good time though, playing, swimming, reading, baking cookies.
"How did I get from the secret service to this?" asked Beth and sighed watching Tegan and the kids jump on a trampoline"
"Why'd you give it up anyway?" asked Nicky.
"I don't know. I just got sick of it I guess. Easy answer. And when my mom got sick I had to spend more time with her. I don't regret leaving. I enjoy this most of the time but right now I'm bored to tears" Beth laughed.
"Yeah, I hear ya, but it does kind of feel like a vacation doesn't it. We're even playing cards" said Mike.
"Okay monkeys, time for lunch. Who wants hot dogs?" said Tegan getting off the trampoline.
"Me mommy, me!" said Ryan sounding very excited about a hot dog.
"Don't think I've ever been that excited about a hot dog" said Beth dryly.
"I'm sure you haven't" laughed Nicky.
"Get your mind out of the gutter" said Beth.
Nicky shrugged and then grinned showing mike her full house of cards.
"Damnit!" Mike grumbled.
-0-
Tegan's phone rang and she ran over to pick it up.
"Hello" she said out of breath.
"Hi Tegan, its Cameron" It took Cam the best part of the day to work up the courage to call Tegan.
"Hi! Good to hear from you! You in town?"
"Yeah, got here a day or two ago. Was just catching up with the family"
"Nice. What are you up to today?"
"Not much, everyone's gone to work or playgroup"
"Want to come over and hang out? We're just chilling next to the pool"
"Um"
"No pressure"
"That sounds really nice, thank you"
"Great, come over when you're ready. Should we save you a hot dog?"
"I'd kill for a hot dog thanks"
"We have plenty, but you better hurry. Ryan's hungry too" Tegan laughed. She gave Cam the address.
"Alright, see you in a few"
-0-
When Cam showed up twenty minutes later the hot dogs were just about done.
"Hi, good to see you" said Tegan and hugged Cam hello. Cam was a bit taken aback but went with it. She greeted the kids and they soon fell into a now almost familiar routine of feeding the kids and playing.
"I'm getting a bit of cabin fever, you know of anywhere we can go for an outing?" said Tegan.
"Sure, how about I pick you guys up early tomorrow and I can take you to breakfast and show you town. After that we can go look at the seals in the harbour" said Cam.
"It's a date" said Tegan and wiped tomato sauce off Ryan's mouth.
"Uh huh" Cam grunted and looked away.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I have a doctor's appointment around 12. I have to go or Kate will kill me"
"Sure we'll be done by then. I can keep an eye on the kids for you while you're in there" said Cam. Truth was that she had a doctor's appointment herself the next afternoon but she decided to ask her Tori to check her out that evening so she didn't have to go into the office. She knew it was a long-shot. What good was staying with a doctor anyway if you still had to wait in the clinic line like everyone else.
"Oh yeah, you mentioned the Doc's married to your cousin?"
"That's right, maybe you guys can come over for dinner one night" said Cam, desperate not to sound like a complete idiot. Tegan smiled broadly and Cam subconsciously let out the breath she'd been holding.
"I'd like that. Let me just meet these people before I just show up at their house" Tegan winked.
-0-
"Hey babe" said Kate looking tired as she stumbled into the kitchen, shoulders slumped forward.
"Hi hon, how was your day?" asked Sara.
"Long, I'm exhausted and I wasn't even on my feet"
"Poor baby, sit down, I'll get you a beer. What happened to half days anyway Kate?"
"You know if I get home at 6 it's like a half day for me" Kate shrugged.
"You need to take it easy okay"
"Everyone stares at me Sar. Like I'm a circus freak or something"
"I'm sure they don't stare at you Kate"
"They do, openly. And they discuss me all the time"
"Sweetie, the novelty will wear off. Its one hell of a thing you survived, people are going to talk. By tomorrow nobody will give you a second look"
"It's been 4 days already"
"Hang in there" said Sara and kissed Kate on the lips before handing her a beer.
"Have you spoken to Tegan recently?" asked Kate.
"Yeah, spoke to her earlier today. Cam that paramedic took them for breakfast in town today. Sounds as if they're hanging out a lot"
"That's good, that she's making friends"
"Is it? I don't want her to get hurt Kate"
"Jeez Sar, just stop the bus for a second, they're just friends. Tegan is nowhere near ready for anything after Lindsey"
"Exactly"
"Give her some credit, and Cam too"
"Maybe a one night stand is all she needs" said Sara, deep in thought.
"Tee's not like that and you know it"
"I know, I also know that this has already gone too far to be a simple one night stand"
"They're just friends Sara, trust me"
"Yeah. She also said she was going to the doctor tomorrow, was supposed to go today but the doc had some emergency"
"She's only going now? I told her to get checked out once a week"
"It hasn't been a week Kate, just calm down, you're so on edge"
"Sorry, I just…. I have this kid I need to operate on but I'm not cleared for the OR yet"
"Can't somebody else do it?"
"No, not this one. I'm the only one who has the experience. I'm not risking anything, it can wait a day or two"
"A day or two? I'm sure they'll clear you in a few days baby, maybe not in the next day or two"
"This is bullshit, that's what it is" Kate exclaimed.
"Kate just relax now please" said Sara and started working on Kate's tense neck muscles.
"Oh that feels good… oh yeah" Kate moaned.
"You're like a rock and you haven't even been back a week"
"What do you want me to do about that Sara?" said Kate sarcastically and got up.
"Baby don't…"
"Sorry, I'm just frustrated" said Kate and splashed some water over her face.
"It's going to be okay. I promise" said Sara behind Kate and touched her hips.
Kate spun around and looked into Sara's eyes.
"I'm so lucky to come home to you" Kate whispered and kissed Sara hard and thoroughly.
"Feel better?" asked Sara when the make out session stopped a few minutes later.
Kate nodded and put her forehead against Sara's.
"Let's go find our little monkey in her room and have some dinner as a family" said Sara and lightly slapped Kate's bum.
"Sounds wonderful" Kate smiled looking tired.
"You should get to bed early tonight if you can"
Kate just nodded and turned towards the room.
A/N: Hi guys, I'm soooo sorry for the long hiatus. I just had some other things to take care of over December and wasn't home most of the time. I'll try my best to update a bit more regularly this month. Hope you're all still around and I haven't lost you all. Please pop me a review if you are.