A few hours later Tegan was feeling a lot better and Tori agreed to let her go. She felt well enough to go for dinner at her new friends' house. Tegan and Cam were picked up by Mike and dropped off at Reese and Tori's. As they came walking up the path to the front door Beth came jogging out the door.
"Tegan, are you okay?" she asked sounding genuinely concerned.
"I'll meet you inside Tegan" Cam smiled.
"I'm fine. Feel pretty much like new" Tegan smiled.
"Don't do that to me again" Beth sighed.
"Sorry, I'll try not to. How are the kids? You guys have fun this afternoon?" Tegan asked.
"They're great. Loved hanging out with their new friends. Reese kept them up the whole afternoon though so they're bound to be tired. Should I get them ready so we can head home?" asked Beth.
"Oh, thanks Beth but we're staying for dinner"
"But you're not well and…"
"I'm perfectly fine, I promise. Plus, the doctor will be right here" Tegan laughed.
"Oh… Okay. I guess I'll hang with Mike then. See you a bit later"
"I didn't mean for you to like… go or whatever" said Tegan.
"Tegan, I'm the help" Beth playfully rolled her eyes.
"Come on you know that's not how I see you guys"
"I know, but it's best we keep things this way on occasions such as these" said Beth.
"I guess. We'll hang out tomorrow?"
"When you agreed to have us join you on this trip, you specifically said you don't want to even know we're here. We said we would try our best. I'm going to keep to that promise as much as possible. I don't want you feeling like you have to invite us… or me… or whatever, whenever you do something social. It's my job to stand outside guarding you. Really, I'm used to it. I actually like it" Beth smiled.
"Alright" Tegan sighed. "I just want you to know that I appreciate you… all of you" Tegan took Beth's hand and squeezed it. Her brown eyes soft and kind. Beth swallowed hard.
"Thanks Tegan. Go inside, they must be waiting" she said softly.
Tegan turned to go inside. Beth stared at her feet for a few seconds and lifted her head just to see Tegan being welcomed into the house. "How can a girl not fall in love with you" she whispered and slowly started walking towards Mike.
-0-
Half an hour later Tegan was sitting on the wooden deck outside sipping on a glass of wine while Reese and Cameron were preparing the barbeque. Tegan couldn't wait to bring up the jujitsu topic.
"Alright Tegan, if you really want to do it you can join class as soon as Tori gives you the go ahead" said Reese.
"Awesome! I'm excited!" Tegan grinned.
"It's hard work, I'm warning you" Cam laughed while sipping a beer.
"Bring it on" Tegan smiled.
"I'll run her through the rules, protocol etc before her first class Reese" Cam said as Tori walked up to them.
"What class? Jujitsu?" she asked
"Yeah, I'm okay to go right doc?" Tegan smiled expectantly.
"Come by the clinic tomorrow and I'll make a call whether to give you medical clearance or not. Sure you don't want to rather join me for rowing?" Tori said shaking her head.
"Maybe some time, but right now I'm stoked about the ninja stuff, you do it too don't you?" Tegan asked. She watched Tori watch Reese who seemed to be holding back her annoyance.
"Yeah, I do but Tegan, don't call it Ninja stuff. Reese looks like she's going to explode"
"Oh shit… sorry… Um… I'm new to this, haven't had the rules briefing yet"
"That's okay. Just remember that the most important part of Jujitsu is respect for the sport, for the art" said Reese and turned to clean the grill.
"Oh crap" Tegan mouthed to Cam. Cam just laughed and continued eating her chips.
Tegan and the kids had a great time with Cam, Reese, Tori and the kids. Tegan felt fine physically the whole evening. The kids were all passed out on a mattress on the living room floor by the time Tegan getting ready to leave.
"Thank you so much for a great evening. I really enjoyed it. It was so cool to get to spend time with you" said Tegan hugging Tori and Reese goodbye.
"It was great having you. The kids really enjoyed it too. We should do this again soon" said Reese.
"Definitely! It's my turn to host next time" said Tegan. She bent down to pick one of the kids up.
"Let me help" said Cam and picked up Casey. She seemed to winch in pain as she straightened.
"You okay?" asked Tori sounding concerned. Tegan looked at her and frowned.
"Sure, just tweaked my back a bit" said Cam and swallowed hard.
"I'll call Mike" said Tegan when she noticed Cam looking a shade paler than normal.
"I've got it, I'll get her to the car" said Cam.
"Just sit down for a sec" said Tori with her hand on Cam's shoulder. Cam looked a bit paler than normal but she seemed completely fine. Tori's reaction suddenly put up serious alarm bells with Tegan.
"I'm fine" Cam said softly and started walking towards the door with a sleeping Casey in her arms.
"What's going on? Is she okay?" asked Tegan frowning.
"She's fine Tegan" Reese smiled looking uncomfortable. She picked up Ryan and walked to the door.
"Dr King?" Tegan asked.
"She's okay Tegan, don't worry. Oh and stop calling me Dr King" Tori smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Oh… okay" said Tegan and started making her way to the car. Something didn't feel right, she just didn't know what.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Tegan asked after the kids were secured into their car seats.
"I don't know, was hoping to spend some time with my aunt" said Cam lying through her teeth. Truth was she needed to fly to Boston for a cardiac biopsy and she didn't know if she would feel up to a visit when she returned, if she returned. They usually asked her to stay close by for the evening.
"Oh okay, no pressure" said Tegan sounding dejected.
"I'll call you, we need to do the Jujitsu rules briefing soon" Cam smiled kindly.
"Okay sure, whenever you're ready" said Tegan.
"Bye Tegan, thanks for today. For… listening" Cam said and swallowed hard.
"Any time, thank you for sharing. I'm here when you need a friend okay" said Tegan and hugged Cam briefly.
"Same here. Goodnight Tee"
Cameron watched the car drive away. She stood there with her hands in her pockets until she couldn't see them anymore.
"Hey, you coming in? Feel like a night cap?" Reese shouted from the house.
"Coming" Cam yelled and ran her hands over her face as she walked back into the house.
-0-
Kate walked into the house at 11 that evening and plonked down her briefcase dramatically. Her jeans and white T-shirt was covered in dirt.
"Kate? Babe you're late!" Sara yelled from the kitchen.
Kate followed Sara's voice.
"Hi… oh… what happened to you?" said Sara stopping abruptly and looking Kate up and down.
"Hi… ugh… long story" Kate sighed and looked down at her soiled clothes.
"Try me" said Sara before swooping in for a kiss.
"I'm a filthy mess" Kate laughed.
"I don't care, I like the messy look" Sara whispered seductively and kissed Kate again, then squeezed her bum.
"I need a beer to put out these flames" Kate said when Sara moved away.
"So?" asked Sara handing Kate a beer.
"Car broke down. Turns out I'm a way better human surgeon than a car surgeon. Fucking thing's toast. I sat there for like two hours!"
"Oh you poor thing. Good thing you came home without a car since it's 11 not 9 like you promised"
"Didn't you get my text?" Kate frowned.
"I got it. Pretty concise piece of work. "I'll be late, don't wait up"
"Sorry, I wanted to call and then the phone died and I didn't have my charger. Luckily I didn't get paged"
"Miracle more like it" Sara mumbled and rolled her eyes.
"Piece of shit" Kate groaned.
"Excuse me?" said Sara pulling her eyebrows up and shoving her hands in her sides"
"The car babe. The car!" Kate couldn't help but laugh.
"You love that car"
"I used to but we've grown apart" Kate said.
"So what now? How'd you get home?"
"Waited for a tow truck. The guy dropped me off only after making me look at his 'infected' bunion" said Kate making air quotes.
Sara burst out laughing.
"It's not funny" Kate gowned but she couldn't help laughing.
"And now I've missed putting Amelia to bed, again"
"She'll forgive you, as long as you make it up to her tomorrow"
"Sar… you know I have an early start again tomorrow"
"You need to slow down"
"Yeah? How?"
"Just stop saying yes to everything. Like this talk at UCLA on Friday. Or taking shifts for your colleagues. You're still recovering and you're pushing the limits way too far. They don't seem to give a shit. Fine friends"
"I'm fine Sara but yes… I guess I can start saying no"
"And you don't have to give them any explanations. Just say no you can't do it"
"Uh huh" Kate grunted sounding deep in thought.
"So, you getting a new car or what?"
"I don't know, maybe they can fix this one"
"I'm sure they will be able to fix it but heck, you work really hard for your money Kate. And you suffered for all the new money you got. So just get a new car. Treat yourself"
"Hmmm, I guess so. I mean it did hurt like a mother fucker those injuries. I deserve something nice"
"Exactly"
"I have something else I want to do with that money though"
"Go on?"
"Almost every day I come across people, desperate people. Their kids are so sick, they're suffering, some of them dying. And we only have a certain pro-bono budget. So, a lot of the time I can't do anything and it kills me. I mean we try to help who we can but we just can't help them all, not without funding. Even if we do the surgery for free there's still OR costs, and aftercare in hospital and medication and… well it all adds up if you don't have insurance. I want to start a fund and help those kids, those families with the money. I'll get somebody to invest the bulk now in something that could pay off in the future"
"I think that's an amazing idea" Sara smiled and straddled Kate's lap.
Kate just smiled looking tired. Sara noticed that the shadows under her wife's eyes got darker by the day.
"But baby, you're one of the best paid surgeons in California. I'm sure you can afford a new car anyway" Sara laughed.
"Yes okay, you win. We'll go car shopping over the weekend"
"You look so tired my love, why don't you go have a shower and get this gunk off you. When you're done I'll pour you a nice glass of wine and I'll light the fire"
"I love you" Kate whispered softly.
"Love you more" quick kiss. "Now go get clean. And don't you dare touch my good towels before there's no trace of grease on you"
"You sure you don't want to come make hundred percent sure all the dirt is off?" Kate grinned.
"I am a perfectionist… and I do love cleaning" Sara winked. Kate laughed and grabbed her wife's hand and led her to the bathroom.
A/N: I know, I know, you can't believe there's a new chapter. Thought I had lost interest etc etc. It's been ages. I assure you the whole story is in my head, it's just a struggle to find time to write these days. I'll try my best to write more – soon! Send me a note through the review box to let me know you're still here and to let me know what you would like to see happen next.