Okay, to say that I'm blown away by the response to this story would be an understatement. Thank you for all the alerts and follows. I appreciate them more than you can ever know...Just know that this is AU so everyone is acting out of character...

Rick could only look at her and whisper, "You're sorry? Do you even know how inadequate that is? How old is he Katherine? Three almost four? And you kept him away from me for his entire life. How could you do this to me? To us? It wasn't enough that you broke my heart all those years ago. Why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant when you found out?"

Kate stared straight ahead and could only shake her head. Rick stood up and paced back and forth in front of her. She dared look at him and was struck by how mad he was. His face was red and he looked as if he would explode at any moment. Kate looked down at the ground and wished that it would open up and swallow her whole. Then she whispered, "I wasn't going to keep the baby. I was..."

She couldn't continue. She couldn't admit that when she first found out that she was pregnant that she wanted to have an abortion. However, by the time she made up her mind it was too late. She couldn't convince her doctor to perform the abortion. Then she heard her baby's heartbeat and she knew that she couldn't get rid of their baby even if she had wanted to. Then the day that changed everything happened and she saw the baby on the ultrasound and she fell in love with that tiny little being.

The day he was born was both the best and the worst day of Kate's life. She had wanted to call Rick so many times and tell him that he was going to be a father. She had picked up the phone and thousand times and a thousand times she had ended the call just before she hit the call button. Would he believe her? Would he even care that she was having his baby? So, in the end, she didn't call him. Didn't tell him about their son and she decided to spend the next three years raising Noah alone. She named their son Noah Alexander in honor of his father.

She had tried calling him the day that their son was born. She had left a message for him asking him to call her. Telling him that she had something very important to tell him. However, he never called her back. She tried again and again the message went unanswered. After a week, she gave up. Admittedly, she could have done more, could have tried harder, but she had given up.

She had spent the past three years regretting the decisions that she had made by herself. She sighed and whispered to Rick, "I tried to call you. I called you every day for a week."

"That's not nearly enough Kate. It's been almost four years. I've missed so much." Rick looked down at the picture that he held in his hand and he sat back down on the swing. He sighed and felt a tear slide down his cheek. He whispered, "I want to meet him Kate.. I deserve that much."

Kate nodded, "You do. Do you want to meet him before tomorrow? He's at my parents house right now. I can go get him and..."

Rick didn't have to think about it before he said, "Yes! I want to meet him..."

Kate nodded and chanced a look at him. Her heart broke at the sight of the man sitting next to her. He looked broken and she knew that she had done that to him. It was all her fault and she knew that even if he forgave her, she would never forgive herself.

Kate whispered, "You and Alexis can come over to my place for dinner. We are having cheeseburgers. They are Noah's favorite food."

"Mine too."

Kate smiled and said, "I remember. Look Rick, I want you to be part of his life. I always did."

He looked over at her and asked softly, "Then why did you wait until now? After all this time..."

Kate shrugged and whispered, "I was afraid."

"Of what?"

Kate looked down at the ground and whispered, "I knew that you didn't love me anymore and I was afraid that you would try to take him away from me to spite me. I'd already lost you. I couldn't stand to lose Noah."

"What kind of heartless monster do you think I am Kate? You are a great mother to Samantha. She's a happy well adjusted child. I wouldn't have taken Noah away from you then."

"But now?"

"I want to get to know him Kate. He's my son and he's my family..."

Kate nodded, "He doesn't know you though Rick."

"And who's fault is that Kate!? Not mine. No that fault lays squarely on your shoulders Kate! Damn you!"

Kate hung her head and whispered, "I'm so sorry Rick."

"Sorry isn't good enough this time Kate. I don't know if it will ever be enough. I don't know if or how I can ever forgive you for this. It was so monumentally unfair of you Kate. What you did..."

"I know...All I can do is try to make it up to you."

"What day was he born on?"

Kate took a deep breath and whispered, "April first."

Rick nearly lost it and he took a deep breath, "My birthday... We have the same birthday..."

Kate nodded softly, "Which is why every year on his birthday I wanted to call you..."

"And yet you didn't...God Kate, do you even know how badly you've hurt me? Do you even care?"

Kate gasped and whispered, "Of course I care Rick. Otherwise I would never have told you about this. About him. I could have pretended that he wasn't yours."

"But he is mine Kate."

She nodded softly, "He is."

"Why did you leave me without talking to me about why?"

Kate sighed, "Meredith..."

Rick did a double take and asked, "What in the hell does Meredith have to do with anything?"

Kate bit on her bottom lip and told him softly, "You wrapped your arms around me that last night before we made love and you whispered her name..."

Rick swallowed hard and whispered, "Oh God..."

"Yeah, so I knew then that you didn't love me. After we made love that morning, I kissed you goodbye forever and..."

"And?"

"And apparently that's when Noah was conceived. I was so hurt back then Rick..."

"It's still no excuse Kate. What you've done is so unfair. I loved you. I loved Sam...I would have, could have, loved our son..."

Kate hung her head in shame and nodded softly. Then she whispered, "Please don't take him from me Rick..."

"Do you actually think that I'd take him out of the only home he's ever known? I'm not that cold and heartless Kate..."

She wanted to say that she knew that, but she didn't know it. Not really. So all she could do was nod and say, "I want him to know you. Want him to know his father. I just don't know how to start."

"I do.."

"How?"

"We will start with dinner tonight and then we will get together tomorrow with our daughters. I will never forget what you've done, but maybe one day I will forgive you..."

Kate could only nod. She knew that the love that they had once shared was probably gone forever, but at least he wasn't going to try and take her son away from her. That was more than she could have hoped for. All she could have wanted. So, for now they would work towards getting father and son closer together. And maybe, just maybe they would build a bridge back to one another...

Sam and Alexis will be back in the following chapter. The next few chapters won't be so full of angst...Sorry, but the muse is ruling this story and she's angsty today...