Two days later...
Steve arrived home in the evening after an exhausting day at work. He opened the door and saw small person covered by a white sheet. "Booo! Booo!"
"Oh, a ghost!" Steve said and smiled at Lyla who was lying on the couch.
"Booo! Booo!"
"Cath! Cath!" Steve joined in the fun with his little girl.
"What happened, Steve?" Catherine came from the kitchen quickly.
"Cath, we have a ghost in the living room! You know I'm afraid of ghosts."
"Oh Steve...I thought it was something serious."
"But this is very serious, Cath. I'm scared to death of ghosts," Steve told her and they both smiled.
Liz pulled back the sheet and let her secret identity be revealed. "It's me, Daddy!"
"Oh, is it you? I felt so afraid, child!"
Liz laughed and asked Steve for his lap and he took her in his lap. "Come here my little ghost," Steve kissed her cheek. "Promise Daddy you'll always be this wonderful daughter?"
"I promise," Liz replied.
Catherine could tell he was upset. "What happened, Steve?"
"We'll talk later, okay?" Steve kissed her and then sat down on the couch next to Lyla still with Liz on his lap while Catherine went back to the kitchen.
"What about you, child? Why aren't you playing?" He asked Lyla and kissed her forehead.
"I'm sick, Daddy. Mommy's making soup for me," Lyla replied and Steve noticed that her heart was beating in an abnormal rhythm. "I'm sorry, honey. You'll get better soon," Steve told her.
"Lyla, can I have soup too?" Liz asked her sister.
"Yes, Liz. Mommy said she's going to make lots of soup."
Steve put Liz down, "Go play, honey. Let's let Lyla rest. Okay?"
"OK Daddy. Love you," Liz told him and sat down on the rug to play with her dolls.
"I love you too, daughter."
"Daddy, I already know what I want for my birthday present," Lyla said to Steve.
"And what is it, honey?"
"A trip somewhere that has snow."
Steve sighed. He knew it wouldn't be possible. "I'll try, daughter."
"Thanks Daddy. I love you," Lyla sat up and hugged him. Steve kissed her forehead once more. "I love you too, daughter. I love you so much."
Half an hour later Catherine was putting the dishes on the table for dinner and Steve told her he was going to call Caroline to dinner.
"She's not in her room, Steve."
"No? And where is she?" Steve asked Catherine.
"She's at Lidia's house. I told her not to go because I wouldn't be long in serving dinner, but she didn't obey me."
Catherine got Lyla and Liz seated at the table and she sat down as well. Steve sat down next to her, pulled the phone from his pocket, and called Caroline. "I want you here in two minutes." He was serious and irritated. Catherine touched his hand and looked into his eyes.
"I'm tired, Cath. I'm tired of being disrespected."
Caroline arrived with Edward and Steve just looked at them with a not pleasant face. "Sorry dad. We were just watching a movie with Lidia."
"Catherine told you not to leave the house."
"Catherine's not my mother," Caroline replied.
Catherine was upset by the girl's response. "I'm just a maid to you, aren't I? Because you don't wash a single glass in this house."
"Go to your house, Edward," Steve ordered.
"OK, Mr. McGarrett," Edward replied and walked out in shame.
Liz showed the empty plate to Catherine. "Mommy, more soup. "
"That's not how you say it, Liz. You should say 'Mommy, more soup please,'" Lyla said.
"Mommy, more soup please," Liz repeated.
Catherine put more soup on Liz's plate and Lyla also asked for more.
"Thank you mommy, " Lyla said to Catherine and Liz did the same.
"I'm going to my room," Caroline said to Steve.
"No, you are going to sit down and have dinner with your family. Now."
After they finished dinner Steve imposed new rules on Caroline. "From today Catherine will no longer help you tidy your room, she will no longer take care of your clothes and she will no longer worry about whether you have proof or not, whether you are sick or not, whether you are happy or not, there will be no more girls' day at the beauty salon with her. She is not your mother, as you said yourself."
"That's why Don has left that house. I look forward to the time when I will be able to do the same!"
"Shut your mouth and go to your room!"
Catherine saw the vein in Steve's neck jump. "Easy, Steve."
Caroline went to her room and Steve also got up and went to his room after apologizing to Catherine and the two girls.
Two hours later Liz and Lyla were asleep and Catherine joined him in their room. He was lying down and staring at the ceiling when she came in and sat on the bed next to him. "Do you want to tell me now what's wrong with you?"
"Don and Caroline are ungrateful and selfish just like their mother. Lyla is so different from them...which makes me think her father wasn't so bad."
Catherine was extremely disappointed. "So you are like this because of your ex-wife?"
Steve saw her eyes water and realized that he had expressed himself poorly and Catherine understood it in another way. "No, Cath. It's not that." Steve sighed. "Don called me this afternoon while I was at headquarters. He was pressuring me to give him his inheritance that Margaret left under my guardianship. She doesn't want me to release the money until he turns 24, so I told him to call her then. He accused me of taking money from him to give to Liz."
" What? But that's absurd, Steve."
"That made me deeply angry, Catherine. Maybe Caroline is thinking the same as him and that's why she's acting this way."
"My daughter doesn't need their money," Catherine was also upset.
"And Lyla's doctor called me today too. He wants us to take her for her pre-op exams. He said we can no longer postpone this surgery. This is making me panic, Cath."
Catherine hugged him. "It's not going to be easy, but we're going to make it . She'll get through all of this and she'll be fine."
"I'm so scared, Cath."
"I know, I am too." Catherine looked him in the eye. "We're in this together, and we're going to make it. Lyla's going to make it. "
PS:
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for your review in the previous chapter.
Laura and Cath, are you guys still around? It's been a long time since I've heard from you. I hope you are well.