After dinner, Alexis went back to her dorm, Martha went back to her studio over her acting school and Kate's parents when back home, asking the couple to come and have lunch with them the following day. Once everyone was gone and everything was cleaned up, Rick noticed that Kate was standing in his office, looking aimlessly through the window. He joined her quietly, pressed her back into his chest and encircled her waist with his arms.
"Are you ok?" he simply asked.
"I don't know. It's strange. I'm mean to her, aren't I? She must think that I don't care that she's back. That I don't want her back but it's not true. I'm really happy she's back I just … I don't know how to express it. And when I think about it I ..."
"I know honey. But she doesn't think you're mean to her. She may not really understand your reactions but she will, don't worry. She completely understands that it's a shock for you to see her here."
"You know, I thought she was dead. I never said anything to anyone, let alone my dad, but I really thought she was dead. I'm a horrible daughter, aren't I? Who would want their mother to be dead?"
"Kate!" Rick exclaimed, turning her to face him."You did not want your mother to be dead. You thought she was. And frankly, I think that's a reasonable assumption after thirteen years without any news. It would have been more 'normal' in a way if she had been dead. But she is not. She is very much alive and she's here with you, with us. It's a miracle Kate. You just have to accept it for what it is. And you are not a horrible daughter." he said, trying to reason with her.
"I think I won't believe she's back in quite a while." she smiled. "I mean, we're going to see them tomorrow and until I can see her with my own eyes and touch her, I won't believe it's true. I need to know what happened." Kate said, trying to stay calm.
"Then you know what? When we get there tomorrow, you kiss her hello and you simply ask her where she had been and what happened for her to disappear on you like that. There must be a really good reason for it. She doesn't seem like a person who would abandon her husband and daughter just to go and see the world."
"She is not." Kate laughed, hugging him.
"You are both biting around the bush here. It was clear that you wanted to ask her today but you didn't. Probably because you wanted her to get back in her own life before annoying her with your questions. I'm sure she wanted to tell you everything but didn't want to burden you with too much at a time." Rick explained.
"You should open a practice with Alexis, the two of you are really good at reading and helping people." Kate said, kidding him lovingly. "Let's go to bed, tomorrow is going to be a long day." she continued, taking him by the hand and walking to their bedroom.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
After a night disturbed by several nightmares, Kate was getting ready to go to lunch at her parents'. Rick was taking care of Emily, knowing that his wife was preparing herself to meet her mother again.
He hadn't slept a lot the night before. Kate had had pretty bad nightmares. She didn't wake up for each of them but Rick had to pin her down several times not to be hit. His heart broke several times when he saw the expression of pain on her face and the fat tears rolling down her cheeks. When she had woken up in the morning, she didn't seem to remember any of it. And he didn't push.
When they left the house, they didn't talk. Kate seemed to be lost in her thoughts. During the car drive, they remained silent, Rick simply squeezing Kate's hand when her agitation showed in her bouncing leg. She froze when Rick drove up the driveway to her parents' house.
"It's gonna be fine Kate. I swear it was not a dream. She is really here and she's not leaving for a very long time." Rick reassured her, knowing what the issue was.
"Right, uh … can you take Emily? I don't think I'll be able to carry her when I see my mom."
"Don't worry about us." Rick said, kissing her cheek. "Come on Kate, go see your mom." he laughed.
She smiled at him before starting to the door. She seemed hesitant at first but as soon as she saw her mother open the door, she started running to her. She literally threw herself into her arms. It was definitely not a dream. She was there. She didn't disappear during the night.
"Hello Rick. How are you? I would welcome you but I seem to have a daughter attached to me." Johanna said, smiling.
"Don't worry, I know the feeling. This little is regularly attached to me." Rick answered, looking at his daughter.
Kate backed away from her mother, a huge smile on her face and happy tears in her eyes. Apparently she was staring to realize what was happening.
"Come on, let's go inside. We all have a lot to talk about." Johanna said, smiling at her daughter and leading the way inside the house.
They all settled in the living room, Jim hurrying to take his granddaughter from her father. Emily had all her entourage wrapped around her little finger but Grandpa Jim was probably the worst of them all. They started talking about the baby but Kate remained silent, looking at her mother.
"Katie, are you ok?" she asked, noticing her staring.
"What happened mom? Why did you leave?" Kate asked, tears coming back in her eyes.
She was so tired of crying all the time! But the question had finally been asked.
"I did not leave because I wanted to Katie, you have to believe me." Johanna started, waiting for her daughter to nod before continuing. "I was forced into witness protection because of one of the cases I was working on. I had already refused once but just before I left the office to meet you at the restaurant, something really bad happened. A woman who was also working on the case for an association for defense of human rights was murdered on her way home. They came and got me from my office, I didn't have time to react that they had already put me into a car and we left. When I realized what was happening, I asked them to turn around, to go back to you even if it was just to say goodbye. They refused, of course. They also refused to give me my cell phone to text you or even to give you a letter I would have written. They said if I contacted you in any way, you would be in danger. That convinced me … even if I don't think I ever cried so much in my entire life." Johanna explained, not bothering to retain her tears.
"What case were you working on? Why did they take you away?" Kate asked.
"I … I can't tell you yet. The process of tying everything up is not complete yet."
"And they let you come back! What were they thinking? You could still be a target!" Kate exclaimed, standing up from her chair, scaring her daughter who started to cry.
Rick took Emily and calmed her down while Johanna was explaining.
"I'm not Kate, I swear. Everything is done but you know how everything works, it takes some time to completely close it up. But don't worry I'm fine and I'm safe. And I'm never leaving you again. Neither of you." she stated firmly, taking both her husband's and her daughter's hands.
"Where did you go?" Rick asked after a few seconds.
Kate sat back down, closer to Rick who put an arm around her.
"They drove me to Canada." Johanna answered. "I was there for five years and then I moved back to the States. A small town near Boston. They found jobs for me everywhere I went and they had the back story ready."
"Were you alone all the time?" Kate asked.
"No. At one time they had a girl live with me. She was being protected because she had witnessed her mother's murder. I was glad to have someone with me but she reminded me too much of you Katie! She didn't stay long but I'm not sure I could have stood it much longer. It brought up too many memories."
"Why did you do with all the time on your hands?" Kate asked.
"I … uh … I wrote you letters. To both of you. Describing my days. It helped pass the time and feel closer to you. I have the letters. Do you want them?" Johanna asked.
Both Jim and Kate nodded enthusiastically. She got up and left the living room to get the letters. As soon as she was gone, Jim let his head drop in his hands and took a deep breath. Kate buried herself deeper into Rick's side. When she came back, Johanna put two very big bundles of letters on the coffee table.
"You don't have to read them if you don't want to. Just … they were meant for you so I thought you should have them. You can throw them away if you want to."
"Is there one for each month?" Rick asked, surprised by the amount of letters.
"One for each week." Johanna smiled at the writer. "Exactly 651 letters each. Plus special ones for birthdays."
Kate moved to take her pile and played with the string that was keeping them together. Jim didn't touch his. He was looking at it as if it could give him all the answers he was hoping for. The silence was broken by the timer of the oven going off. Johanna invited everyone to move to the dinning room while she took the food from the kitchen. When Kate followed to help her, she noticed that a lot of photographs had migrated there. Most of them being of her wedding with Rick.