Please don't hate me for my late updating. I've had a really busy summer and I've had the worst writer's block on the planet so this isn't my favourite chapter, I actually found writing the Lanie/Kate scene impossible so I'm not happy with how it turned out. This chapter has basically gone from being something brilliant that I planned to something very dull to pass the time so I can get moving with the story again.

"Rick commented that things were difficult between you yesterday," Lanie admitted as she glanced

across at the woman who was sitting opposite her. After quick introductions in the apartment when Lanie had arrived, the two women had agreed to go for a coffee together so Kate could get out of the loft for a while.

"Things were difficult but they're improving finally," Kate said quickly, not knowing what else to say. "We had a talk last night and we had breakfast together this morning for the first time since our fight and it wasn't too awkward," she explained, remembering how Rick had entered her room the previous evening and comforted her. "Things are still slightly difficult between us but they're getting better, we're talking to each other and that's a major improvement," she smiled, her fingers running through her hair as Lanie watched her in silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lanie suggested as Kate shrugged, realising that she finally had someone she could talk too without being scared of offending Rick. She could finally be honest about everything that she was feeling without being worried about what she was saying. "I promise, Rick won't hear about anything you say. Girly chats are completely confidential," she added as Kate laughed and nodded, knowing that she should take this opportunity.

"I feel suffocated in the apartment sometimes," Kate admitted. "This is the first time I've left the loft since our fight and I feel so suffocated sometimes because I see the same people every day. I adore Martha and Alexis and Rick is my best friend, usually, but I need to see more people but I'm scared of seeing more people and offending Rick," she explained as Lanie sighed, knowing that she needed to get everything out of her system. "Rick has been so good to me. He visited me every day while I was in hospital and he's welcomed me into his home and he makes me feel safe even when we were fighting," Kate explained as Lanie smiled weakly.

"You can't spend every day of your life scared that you're going to upset Rick Kate," Lanie said quickly as Kate looked at her for a moment. "You need to start living life. You've just spent twelve years in a coma; you can't just hide away now. You need to get out and meet people, enjoy yourself; you're still young and extremely gorgeous, you can't waste that. Rick isn't in charge of your life Kate, you are," she declared, determination covering her face as Kate looked down at her coffee. "This is your life Kate, don't waste it anymore."

"Don't waste any more of it," Kate said to herself as she continued to stare at the dark liquid.

"Why don't we have a girly night in tomorrow? You, me and Jenny could go out for a meal and then stay at my apartment for the night?" she suggested as Kate nodded quickly, excitement covering her face at the idea of spending an evening with two other women. "I could do with an evening without hearing Javi snore and I'm sure Jenny would love a girly night."

"Jenny?" Kate asked quickly, realising she hadn't heard about this woman before.

"Ryan's fiancée," she explained as Kate smiled, excited to meet all these people who were involved in Rick's life and connected to hers as well through the detectives. "We are all in need of a girly night in anyway; Jenny and I haven't had one in weeks."

"I'd love that," Kate smiled before finishing her coffee and relaxing back in the chair. "I haven't had a girly night in well… twelve years," she joked as Lanie laughed at her before they both relaxed in the small café. "So how long have you and Javi been together?" Kate asked, wanting to talk about something other than her dramatic life.

"On and off for about a year," Lanie replied as Kate nodded. "Being an ME and dating a cop can be difficult as we leave early in the morning sometimes and we don't get home to weird times. We can sometimes go days without seeing each other because of our shifts," she explained as Kate nodded slowly. "But we manage and we have fun."

"He seems nice," Kate admitted, remembering the man who'd been in her hospital room when she'd woken up from her coma. "Although I've hardly ever met him and the only times I've seen him is when I've just woken up or been really upset," she explained as Lanie smiled, amazed at how well Kate was coping with the loss of the last twelve years of her life.

"Was it weird?" Lanie asked quietly as confusion covered Kate's face. "Learning that you've been in a coma for twelve years?"

"It's strange," Kate admitted as Lanie listened silently. "Sometimes I forget that I've lost twelve years and think I'm still nineteen and then I see something that's only recently been invented like Alexis' i-pod and remember everything," she laughed, her fingers playing with her hair as she thought about everything that had happened to her. "Rick was helping me with things that have happened while I've been in a coma but that's stopped since our argument," she explained as Lanie nodded, amazed at how well Kate was coping with everything. "The hardest thing about the whole coma thing was my relationships," she sighed as Lanie remained silent. "I woke up and learnt that my mom was dead, my dad has basically decided to have nothing to do with me and I haven't heard from him since the only time he visited in the hospital and all my friends have moved on and I haven't heard from them."

"You could try and get in touch with them, I'm sure we could find some of them," Lanie suggested as Kate shook her head.

"They'll have moved on. I'm sure most of them will have careers and families now. I won't have anything to talk about with them, they'll just remember the old me before the coma and they'll focus on mom's murder. I don't want that," she explained as Lanie nodded slowly. "I want to start my life again. I've been given this amazing chance, I could have died that night but I didn't and I'm alive and healthy. I want to live my life," Kate stated, feeling for the first time that she was in control of her life.

"So what are you going to do?" Lanie questioned as Kate looked across at the ME.

"I'm going to get my relationship with Rick back to the way it was, I'm going to find a job and I'm not going to spend all my time hiding in the loft like I have been doing," she explained as Lanie nodded, taking in how courageous the brunette was as she finished her coffee and they both stood up.

"How about we go shopping?" Lanie asked as Kate nodded, pulling her jacket on before she left the café with the ME. "I feel like I need a new pair of shoes and I think we should find you a new outfit."

"A new outfit sounds amazing," Kate smiled, following the petit ME towards the shops.

XOOXOXOXXOOXOX

"I'm home," Rick called out as he entered the apartment later that evening, removing his jacket before he shut the door and turned to see Kate standing in the kitchen with a large smile covering her face.

"Hi," Kate said happily as she began to move in the kitchen, pouring a glass of wine for the writer as he entered the kitchen and watched her for a moment. She seemed so much happier than she'd done recently and he was glad to see that the smile covering her face wasn't disappearing now that he'd entered the room.

"How was your day?" he asked nervously as he took the glass of wine from her and watched as she moved towards the oven.

"Amazing, thank you for arranging it," Kate responded before leaning down and removing something from the oven, confusion covering the writer's face as he watched her start to plate up some food. "I thought we could have dinner," she explained after she'd turned to see him staring at her. "Your mother and Alexis are out tonight and I thought I'd cook as thank you for everything."

"Sounds brilliant," he smiled, reaching across to take her glass of wine before approaching the already laid table while Kate followed with their plates. Sitting down moments later, Kate smiled as she glanced across at the writer who was glancing down at the meal she'd prepared. "This looks amazing, thank you."

"It was something I used to make with mom and I thought I better test my cooking ability," Kate explained before starting her meal, Rick continuing to watch her in amazement. "I'm going to Lanie's tomorrow night," she admitted as he nodded. "She's invited me for a girly night with her and Jenny and it sounds fun."

"You'll have an amazing time, Lanie is certainly a fun woman to be around," Rick explained as Kate nodded. "And Jenny is lovely, you'll love her."

"It sounds like it'll be fun," Kate said quietly before they fell silent, neither of them knowing what to say to each other. "I want to find a job Rick," Kate admitted as she glanced across at him, Rick nodding slowly. "I need to start earning my own money and I need to start doing something," she explained as he nodded again.

"I can help you find something if you'd like?" he suggested as she smiled, unable to stop herself from smiling at his offer. "I know people, I'm sure we'll find you a job somewhere Kate."

"Thank you."

XOOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Grams come here," Alexis called out quietly later that evening as she stood in the living room waiting for Martha to enter the room. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing and she needed someone else to tell her that her eyes weren't deceiving her. Hearing the floorboard creak behind her, Alexis turned around to see her grandmother slowly walking towards her, her heels now kicked off her feet as she yawned. "Look," she said quietly, Martha staring at her for a moment before she looked at the couch where Kate was curled up asleep while Rick rested in a nearby chair, also asleep.

"I think they may have forgiven each other," Martha smiled as she wrapped an arm around her granddaughter. While her son and the brunette weren't asleep on the same item of furniture, the fact they were both asleep in the same room clearly meant that they'd gotten over their issues. "I think we should leave them and you need to sleep darling, you've got school tomorrow," the redhead stated as Alexis nodded, saying goodnight to her grandmother before she disappeared up the stairs. "Thank god you two," Martha said to herself before she draped a blanket over both Kate and Rick before following Alexis upstairs, leaving them asleep.

What do you think? Be honest, it's not my best chapter.