Chapter 24

Katie walked up the hospital ward. If truth be known she had been dreading this moment. She didn't know why because it was just a visit to her aunt.

But her heart was so heavy.

Ever since she had seen her aunt lying there as if she was dead she had been so scared of the thought of seeing her. She didn't know if things were going to be the same.

What if it happened again? What if…

She walked slowly behind her father with her eyes wide and worried.

"Come on wee lass keep up will you." he said to her over his shoulder.

"I'm trying." she muttered to him.

It was then that she looked at his huge strides. She didn't think she was ever going to be able to match up to them. In her eyes he was a hero. And you never ever matched up to your hero's did you? She didn't think her dad had ever been scared of anything in his life.

He opened the door to her aunt's ward for her to step in to and she did so giving him a nervous smile as she did.

The last time she had been in the hospital had been when she had been visiting him it dawned on her suddenly. She remembered when he had got home she had been so cold with him when he had got home and it had upset her father. So she had to be the same as she had always been with her auntie. Other wise she might get upset too. She didn't want that. Her aunt had been through enough already

Gently, Jim guided his daughter down to the bed where Judy was.

Pulling back the curtain gently, Katherine crept through quietly encouraged by Jim.

It was only when he pulled back the curtain and disturbed them that Gary, who had been looking very tenderly at his wife, turned to see her.

"Here she is, our little hero!" he said as he got up to greet her. "How you feeling angel?" he asked.

"Not bad," she shrugged. "You?"

"Not too bad. Your aunty Judy's feeling better too."

Going up the side of the bed, Judy and Katie looked at each other.

She didn't look like how she had been expecting. She was looking much better than she had been when she had left for her mothers.

Judy took the little girls hand, smiling gratefully at her.

"Do you have any idea what you did and how much it means to your uncle and me, the twins as well? What you did when I got ill? How brave you were…"

Katie nodded. When she had seen her uncle before she had left he had made it quite clear.

She sat in the bed eyes down, silently. It didn't take Judy long to see the tears in them. She had clearly been scared by what had happened. Both of them had been she thought to herself.

And what seven year old wouldn't have been scared, especially one as sensitive as Katie.

"Come here you," she said as she hugged her. She had been scared too, but it was over now, Judy knew that. It was time Katie did too. "I am going to be fine."

"You promise." she muttered as they embrace.

"Of course I do." she said laughing lightly. "I am going to be home in no time as well, So why don't you stop worrying, and tell me all about what you did when you were visiting your mother?" she asked.

Feeling a bit more confident after that Katie smiled at her aunt and begun to tell her every thing, her self-assurance growing with every word and by the end of the visit it was as if she gad never been worried about going in the first place.

"We went swimming, and to the pictures, and we had a pizza too!" she beamed.

It seemed no time at all had passed when Katie was in the car and she was son her way home with her dad.

"You ok now?" he asked.

"Yeah I think so." she nodded before resuming looking out of the window.

"Katie can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." she smiled.

"Were you worried about going in to see your aunty today." he asked.

She shrugged. Of course she had been but she didn't want to admit that to him, not now. She was getting to be a big girl and she didn't want to run to him all the time any more even at seven. She had to start dealing with it on her own and that was what she had learnt when she had been in the house with Judy. The fact she could cope when she had too.

She wasn't going to be her daddy's little girl for ever. He wasn't always going to be there.

That was why she hadn't told him how she felt before she had gone in to the hospital ward.

But he was giving her that look as if to say, I know what you're thinking.

"I guess I was a bit." she nodded.

Then why didn't you come to me?" he asked.

"Dunno. I think I wanted to deal with it on my own…. So I did." she grinned.

He shook his head at her teasing of him.

"Alright smart alec. You don't have to though."

He shook his head.

She was most certainly growing he thought to himself.

-

Once back home she got her bag ready for school.

After all the time she had had off she was going to have a lot to do to catch up.

"Dad, can you help me this week with my work and stuff?" she asked.

"Don't I always wee lass?"

"Yeah." she nodded.

"Come here you," he said.

She had been sitting at the table, and he had been in the arm chair.

Getting up she went over and he pulled her on to his lap.

"I missed you," he said and she leant in to him, nodding.

"Me too."

She jumped off his lap quicker than she might of before though and it made him feel like he had been kicked in the stomach. For the past seven years she had been his little girl and suddenly she was. Well being different with him. Not as cold as she had been when he had first got back from hospital but she wasn't as warm with him as she normally was either.

Sighing he decided to get on with the tea, leaving her to do her own thing. She had only got home yesterday. She was probably just getting settled in to home life again.

Life with Liz was no doubt very different to how life with him was, he thought to himself.

He wondered to him self how much Liz had kept her in her routine which he himself had been pretty strict on ever since he had got her in to it. Of course it had to be broken but he hoped not too much.

"Sausages, mash hand beans?" he asked and she nodded.

"Sounds good."

With in forty five minutes Katie had sat the table and she and her dad were eating. She was disappointed to find that her brother was not there. She hadn't seen a lot of Steve since she had been home and she missed him.

Thinking of her brother though she felt sadden for the fact she had not seen her other one in so long. When they were together, she always felt so close to Andy. Closer then she ever had to Steve. The fact he had left home still upset her at times. No doubt she was going to leave one day some time though when she was big like him. Maybe she'd go to Spain like he had. In his letters to her he had told her how wonderful the weather was all the time, excepted that it got windy.

Sighing heavily, she cut up a bit of sausage.

"You ok?" her father checked seeing the look of sadness in his child's eye.

"Yes daddy." she smiled.

It was then the door was knock upon.

Steve! Thought Katie to herself.

"I'll get it, you eat yer tea." her dad said to her as he got up to answer it.

As he got to the door though and opened it Jim was shocked to see who it was.

"Gwen." he beamed.

"Is it Steve dad?" he heard his daughter call to him.

"No Katie, just one of daddy's friends, I'll be back in a minute." he said to he as he stepped outside. He had not thought of introducing her to his daughter, not yet. The two of them were barely in as serious relationship and he didn't want to let his daughter met her till he was sure what was going on between them.

"Sorry I forget she was back from hers mum." she said to him.

"Its ok." he smiled.

Getting the hint that she wasn't going to be asked in, she sighed not knowing what to say and feeling rather like a plank.

"I just wanted to know if you felt like going for a drink." she said to him shrugging.

He shook his head. "Well I guess you have figured out I can't. I have to get her to bed so she is already for school in the morning, and things so I'll see you tomorrow." he said to her and she nodded.

"Ok, bye." she said as she leant in and kissed his cheek.

"Bye." he nodded as she went off, no doubt heading for the Rovers.

Going back in to the living room he smiled as he sat back down by Katie.

"Who was that?" she asked him.

"No one important darling. No one f or you to worry your little head over."

But that put worry in to Katie's heart. If it hadn't been some one for her to worry about why would he say that?

And she had heard a women's voice. She had mentioned a drink.

Had her dad met some one when she was away? She didn't like the sound of that.

But he had said it was no one so, for now, she knew she was just going to trust what he was saying.

The rest of the week progressed like any normal in some ways but oddly in others. They kept too the routine but when it got to her home work despite the fact she had asked her father for help Katie tried to do it on her own. It made Jim feel quite shut out from her.

Steve came home early the day she went back to school so that they could spend some time together and they ended up having a tickle fight.

She was so glad he was her brother at times.

Katie was also glad on Wednesday when she found a letter on the door mat addressed to her.

Dear Katie,

How you doing?

The letter had begun and she knew from the small neat scribe it was Andy.

Dad rung and told me about what you did for Judy. That must have taken some guts. I'm' proud of you sis. I wish I could come see you soon and hopoefully am going to make it home for the New Year (well that's the plan).

Keep smiling,

Love you,

Andy.

She had smiled for the rest of the day when she had got that.

Saturday morning rolled round and she went down to number one for her morning with her aunt Deirdre as usual.

She was glad she had her.

She checked as soon as she got there if her mother had rung about coming to stay and she was happy to hear she had and was going to come up in two weekend's time to see her.

"Good." she said as she run through to the living groom.

Deirdre smiled and turned to him.

"Are you ok with hat?" she checked.

"What Elizabeth coming, yeah, yeah that's fine." he said but she was concerted to see Jim looking worried.

"Why don't you come through to the living room and have a cup of tea. You look as if you could do with It." she said to him. And he nodded. He could.

He spoke to her about Gwen. It was strange the two of them were hardly the best of friends but when they needed to talk both of them were surprised how easy they found one another to pour there heart out too.

"You know just cause you're a single parent doesn't mean you can't have a life of your own. I had to work through it with Tracy. In fact you might find it easier as Katie is young. Your Tracy was s teenager, and she took it hard, but Katie's always took to most people in the past." She commented. She was ok with Michael, so why shouldn't she be ok with Gwen.

"I know but if we are not going to get in to some thing I font want them to met and then f or me to explain to her that she is not going to come part of her life. And it'd … well I've not had a girl friends or what ever. She is used to being the only girl in my life. I don't want her to feel -"

"What threatened? Oh come on Jim, you would never let that happen." she said to him knowing how protective of his little ones feelings he was. "If you felt she was feeling pushed out then you would play with her whatever she choose or hug her till she felt better, she knows that. Let's face it, you're wrapped round her little finger and always have been. What I am saying id you can't revolved your world round her. Go on a few dates with her. See how it goes, and then if it is going to work introduce them to one another."

He sighed and nodded.

"Is there some thing else?" she asked as they nursed there tea.

"Yeah. She has been acting so strange with me since she has been back." he told her. Maybe if she had been a bit more the Katie he knew since she had been home then he would feel better about thinking about letting her met Gwen but she hadn't.

"How?"

"She isn't talking to me or letting me help her on her home work. She isn't just coming up to me for a hug." he sighed.

"She is growing up Jim." she told him.

"Maybe, but I don't like It." he said to her.

"I'll talk to her today. See if I can get any thing out of her." she gave him a wink.

"Thank you," he nodded.

After spending half an hour on her own with the girl Deirdre had to say she agreed. Her god daughter was out of sorts. She was quieter than usual not that she had ever been a very loud girl, but it was as if she was trying to think of every thing herself.

Talking her up the park it wasn't long till the two of them were sitting by the duck pond and the two of them were chatting.

"You know your daddy's worried about you?" Deirdre asked.

"He is?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You tell me. He says you're not really hugging him or talking to him. Is there a reason,"

Slowly she nodded.

"Do you want to tell me what it is," she asked

Katie considered this question for a minute. If she was truthful she didn't know how ti responded.

"Do you think I act like a baby some times?" she asked.

"No. Not at all." she asked as it all fell in to place. "is this why you have been trying to do more things on your own."

"Yeah. He said he was always going to be there for me. And then that day when Judy fell, auntie Deirdre he wasn't. What if some thing like that happens again. What if he isn't there one day and then I can't cope because every other time he has always been there for Me." she asked.

Deirdre sighed. There was going to be a day he guessed when he wasn't going to be there for her. She shouldn't be thinking like that but she could see why she was.

"But Katie when you had too you did cope didn't you. I mean you have always had his help before but when you had too, you save Judy's life. Katei just because we have to be on our own and do things by ourselves at times, doesn't mean we have to be on our own all the time. It isn't right or health love. Should I let you in on secret? Even grown ups needs hugs and I think your dad is missing you hugging him." She said sadly as Katie begun to understand what she was saying.

"He is?"

"Well yeah. Who else gives him cuddles. Steve cant and your mum isn't there." she said to her.

"I miss hugging him too." she nodded.

"I guess I should be giving him hugs then."

"I think that is a very good idea."