Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I know its been ages but I promise I'll do my best not to take so long again :)

This chapter is dedicated to my wonderfully amazing little cousin Jay. You've overcome so much and we are all so proud of you :)

June 11th, 2001

Carol leaned heavily on the breakfast bar, her fingers tapping endlessly against the granite top, as she stared out the kitchen window into the driveway.

Nothing.

With a frustrated sigh, she pushed away from the bar and crossed the kitchen to the double doors to check on the twins. They were out playing in the garden with Luke as Doug and Tom worked on the boat down at the deck. That boat with Doug's new favourite toy. He had bought it a few weeks ago, old, rusty and with no engine, and now he and Tom were determined to fix it up. Smiling, Carol crossed the kitchen again to check on lunch.

Twenty minutes later, footsteps on the wooden porch signalled the arrival of Erin. She entered the kitchen to find Carol serving up lunch, slowly, as she gazed out the window again. Shaking her head, Erin went to Carol's side and took the food from her, startling Carol.

'Patience is a virtue,' Erin told her, smiling.

Carol smiled too. 'I know but it's driving me mad! And I've never been a very patient person,' she told her friend. Erin laughed.

'Oh, I know. Now, they will be here soon so let's make sure lunch is ready, okay?' the brunette said and Carol nodded, both turning their attention back to the food.

Once the woman had set the food down on the table on the back porch, they called the men and children. The kids squealed as Doug and Tom left the deck and swooped them up into their arms, running with them back to the house.

'Wow, this looks good!' Tom observed greedily.

'No one touches the food until they arrive, okay?' Carol said in her most stern mother voice and Doug and Tom's shoulders sagged and they nodded.

Erin laughed. 'You two are worse than the kids!'

'Mommy! A car!' Kate screamed right then and, no doubt, the undeniable sound of tyres on gravel could be heard around the side of the house.

Carol gave an excited squeal as she scooped Tess up into her arms and ran for the front door, Doug and Kate right behind them. Reaching the front door, Carol threw it open with her free hand and a huge grin spread across her face.

A family were exiting the car, two parents, a teenage girl and, most importantly, a car seat holding a tiny baby.

Carol bounced out the door and into the arms of the man, pressing Tess between them as they hugged.

'I'm so glad you're finally here!' she nearly screamed at her oldest friend.

Mark laughed. 'Me too. That drive was endless,' he released Carol as Doug approached and the two men hugged, yet again with a twin caught between them.

'Good to see you, buddy,' Doug told him, slapping his friend's shoulder. Mark smiled happily. They both turned to see Carol and Elizabeth locked together, the car seat now on in a grumpy looking Rachel's hands as she leaned against the side of the car.

When the woman broke apart, Carol squealed, 'Well, let me see her, let me see her!'

Elizabeth grinned and took the car seat back from Rachel and Carol leaned down to look at the tiny baby wrapped up in an abundance of pink blankets. Doug came to stand beside Carol to see the baby too and he smiled.

'She's beautiful,' Carol said in an awed whisper, grinning up at her friends.

'Doug, Carol, meet Ella Isabelle Greene,' Elizabeth said, joy and pride colouring her tone.

Doug stood up straight and addressed the moody teenager that had, so far, said nothing. 'Hey Rach.'

'Hey Doug,' Rachel said, pushing away from the car to give him a one armed hug, smiling ever so slightly as she did so. She looked up at Kate, still in Doug's arms and said, 'They've gotten so big.'

'Well, it has been a while,' Doug said, laughing.

'Too long, I think,' Elizabeth added and Carol agreed. Then she clapped her hands excitedly and said, 'Lunch is ready and our neighbours are out back too, come on out and meet them.'

The two families left the driveway and, passing through the house, emerged out on the porch again. Erin and Tom stood up as they arrived, Tom with half a sandwich sticking out his mouth.

Carol laughed. 'Guys, this is Erin and Tom and their son Luke. They live next door. And this is Mark, Elizabeth, Rachel and beautiful baby Ella,' she introduced as everyone shook hands.

'Right, this meal has been waiting long enough to be eaten. Let's dig in,' Doug said and everyone converge on the table.

......

'Hey, squirt! Careful, you know Tess doesn't like the water!' Doug shouted down the garden to his daughter. Rachel and the twins were playing at the water's edge, Kate splashing about fearlessly.

Doug turned back to his wife and friends. Erin and Tom had left to put Luke to bed. Lunch had lasted all through the afternoon as the friends caught up and well into the evening as the kids began to play in the garden and the wine had appeared on the table for the adults.

'I'm really sorry we missed the wedding! Erin and Tom had agreed to mind the girls and everything, we were all set to come! And then our flight was cancelled because of the storm!' Carol explained.

Mark smiled. 'Carol, don't worry about it. Rach didn't even make it because of the storm. I almost didn't make it because of the storm!' he laughed.

'Among other things,' Elizabeth corrected as she sat feeding Ella.

'Well, yeah,' Mark admitted and everyone laughed. Absentmindedly, he ran a hand over his head.

The laughed ceased almost immediately as all eyes landed on his scar running from ear to ear.

So far, they had all avoided the elephant in the room, trying to concentrate on the happier things like their wedding and Ella being born, but inevitably, the time had come to talk about it.

Before anyone could speak, however, Mark said, 'I know...But I'm okay now. Honestly. Just...let's not talk about it right now.' Elizabeth reached out and took his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. He smiled in a bittersweet kind of way.

'I should have been there,' Carol said in almost a whisper. 'Mark, you were there for me when I needed you and then when you needed me, I was hundreds of miles away.' This was something that had Carol feeling guilty for the last five, almost six, months since they had found out about Mark's tumour.

Mark leaned over to take Carol's hand in his. 'Carol, don't feel guilty. You were here and you were happy with Doug and the girls. And I was happy for you. I was fine...I am fine. The surgery was successful and I've lived to be married and watch my daughter be born. That's two things I was sure I'm going to miss. Trust me, I'm happier now than I've been in a long, long time. That part of my life is over. Let's just forget about it and move on.'

Brushing away some sudden tears, Carol nodded.

'We're glad you're here,' Doug said with a slight smile and they all heard the double meaning. They were glad Mark was sitting there with them in that moment, but they were also glad Mark was able to be sitting there with them.