Chapter 6

After a long time, Caroline broke away from their embrace and smiled at Kate.

"It's late." Caroline wanted to know what Kate was going to do, whether she was going to stay, as she'd said earlier or whether she would change her mind and go home, only she couldn't quite bring herself to ask. Caroline wanted to cling on, to stop Kate going out of her sight ever again, but she wasn't entirely sure whether Kate wanted even remotely the same thing. She crossed the room, her eyes sweeping the floor for the bag she'd left somewhere that morning. Finding it, she picked it up and looked back at Kate. "Kate... I... will..." she hesitated, not knowing how to phrase her question without sounding like she was trying to control things.

"Do you ... want me to stay, Caroline?" Kate, struck again by the magnitude of emotions and information that Caroline's eyes could convey to her, knew immediately what she was struggling with. It was late and they had heard other guests making their way to their rooms, to their beds. Kate was tired; she would have been tired, baby or not, after the wedding and the events of the last hour or so, but certainly her pregnancy was starting to slow her down.

Caroline nodded and made no effort to hide her relief. Kate tried to suppress a yawn but she was too late and Caroline moved effortlessly into action mode.

"Kate, you must be exhausted. You've put up with my family all day and then... all of this. Let's just go to bed. We can talk tomorrow...whenever. Let's just go to bed. Are you sure you...do you want me to... I can see if there are any other rooms...if you...?" Caroline suddenly, clumsily, realised that she didn't want to just assume Kate would stay with her, in her room.

"Caroline, relax, its fine. I want to stay with you, not somewhere else!" Kate smiled at Caroline's caution.

"Ok. I just didn't want to...assume... you know, that you wanted to be here. With me."

"I do."

"Good. I want you to be here too."

Kate sat down on the edge of the bed, automatically on the side that she always slept on before that weekend. Realising she was still holding her bag and remembering why she had picked it up in the first place, Caroline reached into it, rummaging around for her phone. Eventually finding it, she pulled it out and looked at it, pressed a few buttons and set it down automatically on the bedside table on her side of the bed. She threw her bag back down where she'd found it and turned her attention once more to Kate.

"Any drama?" Kate knew Caroline's family well and didn't expect for a moment that they wouldn't have had any need for Caroline in the time they'd been away.

"Just a message from William saying he's made sure Lawrence and Angus are ok in their room, not tearing the place apart thankfully, and that he and Roxy have gone to bed. He says they'll see us at breakfast."

"He's such a sweet boy, Caroline." Caroline nodded. Kate paused for a few seconds before continuing. "I didn't bring any things with me, Caroline. I didn't even think about it."

"Well, that's not going to be too much of an issue is it? I've probably brought the bathroom essentials, I should think. I'll pop down to reception in a minute and grab some extra towels and see if they've got any toothbrushes. Can you think of anything else?"

"I don't think so. Thank you, Caroline." In her tiredness, Kate was ready to be looked after and thankful for Caroline's care and characteristic attentiveness, she watched Caroline from the bed, almost with adulation.

Caroline walked around to Kate's side of the bed and knelt down on the floor in front of her, leaning her forearms on Kate's knees. She reached up and traced a line down the side of Kate's face with her finger, before gently tugging her closer and kissing her slowly and keenly. Kate readily leant in, returning the kiss, happy to soak in everything that was Caroline. Eventually and somewhat reluctantly, Caroline pulled away.

"Ok. I'll be back in a minute." Caroline stood up and headed for the door. "Use whatever you want, Kate, its fine."

"Ok. Don't be long."

Caroline smiled at Kate and let herself out of the door, closing it behind her as quietly as she could. She paused for a minute, outside the door, caught in a moment of disbelief. She let her head rest back on the door frame and took several slow deep breaths. Less than two hours previously, she couldn't have felt more desperate, more wretched, and now, at odds with everything she had expected the day to bring, she had been redeemed. After endless weeks of just barely surviving, she had suddenly been given her life back. She knew she should probably go and make sure that Lawrence and Angus weren't causing anyone any trouble but she didn't want Kate out of her physical reach for any more time than was totally necessary and decided against making a detour.

Kate looked around the room, taking in the sight of Caroline's clothes and shoes, now carefully deposited in all the right places. She kicked off her shoes and tested her weight on the bed, bouncing gently to gauge the firmness of the mattress. It was all very plush, very Caroline, and Kate was certainly appreciating the privacy of the hotel as it might compare with the madness of Conway Drive. Kate pulled herself up from the bed and stretched the muscles in her back; as her pregnancy went on, she had been experiencing more persistent back pain, mostly when she was sitting upright. She saw Caroline's overnight bag on the floor by the dressing table and wondered whether she might have brought something that Kate could sleep in. Kate delved inside and found a couple of vests right at the bottom. Pulling them out of the bag, she brought them to her face, inhaling their scent. This smell, of Caroline and her clothes, wasn't something that Kate had been aware of having missed until now, but she had, and suddenly she needed Caroline to be back with her. She needed to be as close as possible to this woman she had nearly lost.