"Oh no." Kate sighed. Another letter from her "admirer" in the mail. It had been 2 days since her breakdown, and she had since gone back to work, but she didn't want to end her day like this. Not that it was a good day to start with. She had barely been given any work, and Garrett, Lily, Nigel, and Jordan were always checking on her.

There was one highlight, though. Nigel had popped in her office for another checkup, just before his break.--

"Hey Kate?"

"Yeah?" She sounded bored out of her mind.

"Um... are you hungry, luv?" He paused to read her face. "Cause I know this great little diner a few blocks down. We could walk to it."

She looked surprised. Was this a date, or just friends going to lunch? She couldn't read it. But she needed to get out of the morgue, and what could a walk and lunch hurt?

"Sure. I'd like that a lot." It was just the answer he was looking for. Kate put down the letter, grabbed her purse, and she and Nigel walked out. All the while escaping notice from the rest.

On the way there, they talked.

"So what made you think about this place for lunch?"

"I just thought that you could use some fresh air." He shrugged. Kate raised an eyebrow at him.

"So you just wanted to get me out of the morgue, huh?" Playful.

"No! I just wanted to talk, to get to know you a little better."

Kate's face got more serious.

"What?" She wasn't expecting anything like that. But it was odd, because, secretly, she was wanting to... wanting to do what exactly? She just couldn't tell.

"You know, luv..." Nigel felt awkward. How could he tell her how he felt if he didn't understand it himself? "I mean, you've been here for over a year now, and I still don't really know anything about you. We still don't know anything." He remembered the silence at the hospital.

Kate blushed. He was right. She hadn't really told them anything, except for when she slipped about her alcoholic father and marital disasters. She took a deep breath. Here it goes.

"I have a brother and sister. Ben and Erica. They're both younger than me, but Ben's the youngest." She stopped to look at Nigel, who was looking back, listening with all his might. So she kept going, and they kept walking through the crisp autumn air, with the leaves dancing around their feet. "I don't remember my mother. She left after Ben was born. So, I had to watch out for Ben and Erica, you know? It was hard. My dad drank and..." She stopped. No more. "Anyway, does all that qualify as knowing me?" Personally, she had shocked herself. It was so easy to tell him. But why?

"I think so, luv." He said with a sheepish grin. He finally knew something about her, but he sensed there was a lot more. Then he knew he had to tell her about Lily's phone call. If he didn't, she might overreact when Erica got here. "Um, by the way, when you were in the hospital, um, we all decided it would be best if your sister knew."

Kate's expression turned from content to fury. She stopped walking and faced him.

"You told my sister?! Why the hell would you do that?! I didn't tell her because I didn't want her to worry!"

Nigel knew he was in deep water now.

"I know! I know! But don't you think she has a right to? She's your sister! She would want to know!"

"Sure she has a right to, but now she's going to freak! I bet she's on a plane coming right now!" Damn, she knows her sister, Nigel thought.

"Well... yeah, she is. But I want you to know that we told her that she didn't have to, ok?" He purposely kept Lily's name out of the picture.

Kate just looked away for a moment. Why do they think they can just invade her life? But they were worried. But if she didn't want to tell her, they shouldn't have either! But Erica does have a right. But they still should have let her decide if she wanted to! But Erica's coming to Boston anyway. Wait, she's coming? Erica's coming? She'll get to see her baby sister for the first time in years. Then why was she so upset? Yeah, it was wrong, but...Erica's coming!

She looked back at Nigel, who was looking as guilty as a little kid with his hand in the cookie jar. She smiled.

"Well, I'm still angry at you. But," He looked up. "I guess I should say thank you."

He was baffled.

"What? You're thanking me? Why?"

Kate shrugged.

"Cause you got my sister to come and see me. We've both been so busy that we haven't seen each other in a while"

Nigel's classic smile reappeared.

"Well, you're welcome then."

They started to walk again. They ate lunch, Nigel picking up the bill, saying it was his "duty as a gentleman". Some would say that they had officially broken the ice.

XXX

"So, Lily, when is Kate's sister coming?" Jordan asked. They were both sitting in the break room, sipping coffee and playing with Maddie.

"Well, she said she'd be on the first flight over, but the weather up in Vancouver has been really bad lately. They probably canceled all the flights, so it's hard to tell."

"What was she like when you talked to her on the phone?"

Lily thought for a second.

"She seemed a lot like Kate. Tired, too. But when she heard that something was wrong with Kate, it's like nothing else in the world mattered. It was really sweet." She smiled as she talked.

"Hey, what about her brother? Where's he?"

"I don't know." Lily put Maddie on the floor, letting her crawl in the deemed "safe" zone. "He didn't have a number listed."

"You think he died?" Jordan asked hesitantly.

"I think they take any deceased off the family list."

"Oh. Ok, good. But where do you think he is?"

Lily shrugged. She and most of the others had been wondering the same thing. Maybe they'd learn once Erica got there.