"Kate. Honey wake up, please."

She knew this voice. It was Rick's. He was putting a wet washcloth on her forehead. It was cold.

"Come on Kate. Come back to us." she heard him again.

He seemed concerned. She tried to open her eyes but they were too heavy. He had seen the movement though.

"Come on Kate, I know you can hear me. I saw you move. Come on."

After a few more seconds, she finally managed to open her eyes.

"That's it." Rick encouraged. "Your parents are worried, honey."

Right. Her parents. With an 's'. They were both here.

"So … that was real?" she asked slowly.

"It was real." Rick answered.

"What … what happened?" she asked, trying to sit on the bed where Rick had apparently carried her.

"You fainted. Your father caught you just before you hit the floor." Rick answered soothingly, trying to calm her down.

"And she … she's still here? She's really here?" she asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yes she is. And she's kind of shocked too." he said, smiling.

After a few seconds lost in her thoughts, she got up and walked to the door. She stopped for a while, her hand hanging above the doorknob. That's when she heard them.

"She must hate me Jim. You should have told her before bringing me here. She must think I abandoned her or ..."

"Jo, stop! She cannot hate you. She was just shocked. She didn't expect to see you ever again. God, I didn't expect to see you ever again. She's strong. Stronger than you probably think. She's going to be fine. And she will not hate you." Jim said.

Kate took a deep breath and slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door. She was there. She was really there. In her living room. With her dad and her daughter. And apparently she had heard the door open because she turned around just as she was going to talk to her husband. She stopped short when she saw Kate in the doorway.

Kate took a tentative step forward, not sure her legs would be able to carry her much longer.

"Mom?" she whispered, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

The older woman seemed to fly to her daughter, taking her in her arms as soon as she was within reach, her own vision more than blurred by tears.

"Oh my God, you're here. You're really here. It's not a dream. You're really here." Kate kept repeating, crying on her mother's shoulder, her hands traveling on her back to be sure that she was physically present.

After an indefinite number of minutes, Emily started crying. She was clearly ready for lunch. Rick moved from the doorway – where he had witnessed his wife reunite with her long lost mother – to the car seat his daughter was still in. The two men and Emily moved to the kitchen while mother and daughter showed no sign of letting go of one another.

Kate had closed her eyes and hold her mother tight. Certainly too tight but she didn't care. She was thinking of all the times she had wished her mother was with her. When she had to check her father in a rehab center against his will. When she graduated from he Academy. When she made Detective. When her father got out of the center sober and never to drink a drop of alcohol ever again. When she first met Rick and could absolutely not stand him. How many times had she wished her mother was here so that she could whine about him and his crazy ideas! But most of all, she had missed her mother when she had taken the different steps of what she called "becoming a real woman": dating Rick, marrying Rick, having a baby with Rick.

In the kitchen, Emily produced a particularly loud burp, making Rick and Kim laugh.

"Wow. You're definitely too small to make such a noise Princess." Rick said, putting her empty bottle in the sink.

"You have a beautiful family Katie." her mother said, letting go of her and whipping the tears of her cheeks.

"I know. They are the best." Kate smiled, taking her mother's hand and guiding her to the kitchen. I seemed that she couldn't let go of her.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Rick draped an arm around his wife's shoulders and whispered "Are you ok?" in her ear. Kate nodded, taking Emily from him.

"Hey Princess. Look who's here. It's Grandma. She is back Sweetie." Kate said, rocking her daughter in her arms.

"She is so beautiful Katie. And her eyes … they're so blue!" Johanna said, passing a finger on her granddaughter's cheek.

"Well, she has Daddy to thank for that." Kate smiled, looking at her husband.

Rick had never seen her like that before. Her eyes were shining more than usual, even if some tears managed to escape sometimes. She was beautiful, perfect. She had always looked perfect to him but he could see that the missing part for her complete happiness had come back. Of course, she was happy before, and he had seen the changes she he had met her but this was … more. She looked like she was finally complete. And nothing could make him happier.

"When did you come back?" Kate asked her mom.

"Late last night. I actually pulled your father from bed." Johanna laughed. "He didn't even tell me about Emily. Needless to say I was really surprised to hear an infant cry this morning!" she continued, glaring at Jim.

"Well, excuse me but I was otherwise engaged." he said, both of them blushing slightly.

It was good to see them like that. Like nothing had changed. Her parents had always seemed very much in love with each other. It used to embarrass teenage Kate but she secretly wanted be like them some day. To find the perfect partner. And she had.

"Ok, I'm gonna order in. What do you want for lunch?" Rick asked, looking for the menus in the drawer.

"Chinese." the three Becketts answered at the same time.

"Ok." Rick laughed. "I'm going to take a bit of everything and we share. But let me just tell you … that was scary."

So ... what did you think of the reunion of the Beckett family?

Next chapter: the beginning of the explanations ...