Here is chapter 19, enjoy !

"What ? Rick, you don't have any sister ! " Kate said, really concerned for him now.

"No, I know. I mean, she's not biologically my sister. But we adopted each other when we were kids." Rick said.

"Are you sure you're ok Rick? You're not making any sense." Kate said, really worried about him.

"You're right. Let's go home, I'll explain everything." he said. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight with your family? I would really love for all of us to get together in a more … private setting." he asked to Angela.

"Yes, sure. Here, that's my number." she said, giving him a card. "Text me with the details. It was really nice to meet you." she said to Kate before leaving with Katie.

Kate was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Rick hug her tight.

"Let's go home. I'll explain everything." he said, kissing her sweetly.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When they had come back from the market, they had prepared a light lunch and were now eating on the back porch. Kate could see that Rick was not eating. He played around with his food.

"Rick, please tell me what's going on, I'm getting really worried here." Kate almost begged.

"I'm sorry. It's just … I really didn't expect to see her again." Rick said, trying to smile.

"Who is she? And don't say your sister because you don't have any."

"She was my neighbor for like ten years. Mother and me, we lived in this tiny apartment in Brooklyn. She was taking as many jobs as she could to pay the rent and I was just going to school and helping when I could. She had just been dropped by yet another boyfriend who left with pretty much everything and one night, she just couldn't stop crying so I went looking for help and I ended up at the Blakes' door." Rick said, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Oh I'm sorry Rick, I didn't know. You don't have to tell me if …"

"Yes I do Kate. I know pretty much everything about your life before we met but you don't know anything about me, about my childhood. And we're getting married and having a baby. You should know what you're signing up for." he tried to joke, failing miserably.

"I know who you are Rick." Kate said, thinking back on what Meredith had told her once. "And I don't want you to be sad." she continued, trying not to let her own tears fall. At least now she could blame it on the hormones, even if it was not all their doings.

"Oh no, it's not a sad memory. Well … that particular night yes but it was all for the better. I met Angela and her parents that night and they helped Mother get back to herself, I became friend with Angela. Well, more than friend. She was … is like a sister to me. We actually adopted each other when I was twelve. She was eight and she saw a TV show about adoption and since neither of us had siblings we thought we would be each other's sibling. I looked for the forms at the library and I photocopied one. I made one almost identical on a type writer and that was it." Rick explained, smiling softly at the memory. "You know, we lived at the very end of a hall way on our floor and our doors were facing each other. We dressed a sort of altar out of card boxes covered by a table cloth and we had a very official ceremony. The super played the judge and both our mothers were present. We even had a celebration after that, I think I still have some photos somewhere at the loft." he laughed.

"And your parents actually played along?" Kate asked, smiling.

"Yeah. Well, we were both pretty lonely children. She had some serious difficulties at school because almost everyone was bullying her and I didn't have many friends either so, I think our parents were happy to finally see us connect with someone else who was about our age. I used to hang out with my mother a lot backstage but it's not the same as having a real friend you know? Of course they were all really nice to me but it was not really the same. She was the one who first told me I should tell stories when I grow older." Rick remembered, a soft smile on his face.

"I'll have to thank her for that." Kate said, smiling at him. "But why did she tell you that?"

"Well, one day a man handed me Casino Royale in a book shop and I absolutely loved it. I read it to Angela and then she asked for more stories so I invented them. After a while she told me I should write them down so I wouldn't forget them and one day they had a meeting with an author at her school and she told me that it's what I should do. And since that day … I know it'll sound cliché but … I never imagined myself doing anything else." Rick explained.

"You should tell her to come on the 4th of July, I'm sure Martha would be delighted to see her again." Kate said, taking his hand in hers.

"You're the best, you know that? That's a great idea." he said, bending over the table to kiss her quickly.

"What … uh … what happened between the two of you. I mean, you said you really didn't expect to see her again and …"

"It's ok Kate. It's just … Life happened you know? When I was fifteen my mother sent me to boarding school so I saw Angela only on the weekends. And then her parents moved to Atlanta. We called each other and wrote letters. A few years later both her parents died in a car crash and that's when we lost contact. I remember seeing it on the news. A drunk truck driver made at least five cars crash and her parents were in one of them, I recognized the car because we had put our very own bumper sticker on it. I lost track of her after that. I don't know if she was sent in the system or if someone from her family took her but I didn't know how to reach her and she didn't contact me again. And by the end, I think I kind of lost hope you know? And maybe it's stupid but even today, when there's something I don't recognize in the mail my first thought is always that she found me back and that she's writing to me." Rick said, letting Kate who had moved on his lap dry the tears that were falling down his cheeks.

"But you found her now. And she's coming over tonight for dinner. You'll be together again." Kate reassured him, caressing his cheek.

"Yeah. It's truly a miracle we reunited."

"Well, you know, Katies are really helpful girls." Kate laughed. "Now, tell me, was there a special meal that the two of you were crazy about? Maybe we can cook that as a celebration for your reuniting." Kate proposed.

"You know what? If you cook dinner, do whatever you want, but I take care of the dessert. I know exactly what to make." Rick said excitedly, a huge grin on his face.

So, what do you think of this chapter?