DISCLAIMER: LTIH IS NOT MINE AND NEVER WILL BE EVERYTHING HERE (except Grumpy) BELONG TO BBC AND SW.

Kate.

Kate arrived home feeling exhausted but happy about everything that happened the previous hours. However, despite of how much she knew Caroline loved her she was scared of how Caroline would react once she explained what she needed in full detail. She was conscious that the older woman loved her, but she was scared about how she was going to react when the reality of the day to day life hit her.

After taking a quick shower she grabbed some tea and biscuits and sat on the sofa relaxing before Caroline arrived. Lovingly rubbing her belly Kate thought about the last time Caroline had been there. They had sat and done some chit chat before Caroline asked her for another chance. The way Caroline looked at her, it was much more begging than asking, those sad blue eyes, she meant every word she was saying and Kate knew it. In fact Kate's heart was yelling and having the worst tantrum ever telling her to say yes and to accept her lover back. Her brain was on the other hand yelling as much as her heart but telling her to send Caroline away. Kate remembered how hard had been to keep a straight face trying to find out what was best saying yes or saying no, and then she gave up. Kate couldn't stand the idea of not being close to Caroline, if true loved existed for sure Caroline was hers and she was about to say yes when the baby moved. The baby moving inside her was a reminder of the pain caused by Caroline in several occasions, and suddenly her brain made the voice on her head stop. She had to think for now what was best for the baby and although Caroline was a good mother Kate was not going to risk the baby falling for Caroline and then loosing her. She knew the pain and it was too hard. Thinking about the baby Kate said "no, thank you" and felt her heart being ripped apart in a million pieces. She could understand Caroline's look because she was feeling as broken as her.

Kate remembered the next days, working, watching Caroline from the distance, smelling her perfume walking down the corridors,... and she hated how much she needed to feel her close, but she couldn't allow that to happen. Then, she bled. She felt like it was the end of everything. She was loosing her kid and she had already lost Caroline to that kid. She was going to loose everything she needed and wanted. She thought for a second about ringing the other woman to ask her to go with her to the hospital, she was scared and she needed to feel her support but it was not fair for none of us so she just told Beverly she was bleeding and driving herself into the hospital. The fear of loosing her baby felt half the fear when Caroline sat by her side. It was natural to have her there and she sighed, small talk and then the nurse call her in and she tried to ask her Caroline to go in with her, she tried but she couldn't. Again, not fair. Caroline being herself did her best and offered to go in. Despite of the fear of what the doctor might say Kate felt her heart filled with love for the blond woman. Caroline loved her, begged her for another chance and though she did not get it she was still there being supportive and caring. Caroline was offering a friendly hand and the brunette accepted it.

The doctor was checking the baby and not thinking Kate grabbed Caroline's hand watching their baby on the screen and when the doctor said the baby was doing great and that it was a baby girl Kate felt complete for half a second. Their daughter was fine, they were fine. The thirty seconds went and Kate came back to the real world, removing her hand from Caroline's and apologizing. Kate's heart broke again as much as Caroline's, and for the second time in a few days, it was her hurting Caroline. It was easy to hurt the one you love when you are trying to protect yourself.

The ultrasound moment was the moment when Kate finally put herself on Caroline's shoes. Caroline was trying to protect herself from a world that was completely new to her and in the process broke Kate's heart. Kate was trying to protect herself from being hurt and trying to avoid that she hurt Caroline.

Kate smiled at the thought of Caroline walking towards the isle with Celia. She looked gorgeous, gorgeous but sad. She was smiling but not with her eyes. During the ceremony she couldn't help but staring at her at every chance she got. A few times she caught Caroline looking at her with sad puppy eyes. There was a longing on those blue eyes that said all that Caroline seemed unable to express herself. Then there was the moment when she stood up and started talking about Celia and Alan. She could see the real Caroline there, the one she fell in love with and not the one that needed to be in control of everything. Kate was the one who had no strength this time to fight and decided to let go. She was tired to fight, she needed someone to love her but she needed someone to love her that was already out, not necessarily out and proud, but someone that would not seem scared of showing affection, someone that was not embarrassed of being close to her, and that was not Caroline.

Finally the wedding and the reception was over and it was time for Kate to go back home. She remembered sighing and thinking that the wedding might have felt really different for her if Caroline and her would have still been a couple, but they weren't so it was time to drive herself back home. She left her table and went to say good bye to Caroline, after all manners were important. First thing she got was a witty bitter comment when she wished Caroline a Merry Christmas but something was different. Four months ago Caroline would not have said sorry, she would not even realized that she had been rude and this time she did. She apologized, truly apologized and Kate understood what she meant. Christmas were going to be sad, both of them were going to be heart broken. Kate droved back home wishing Caroline had asked her to stay, that she would have tried to reach to her, tried to tell her she loved her... she wished Caroline would have tried anything to make her feel she was loved and wanted. Arriving home while she was opening the door something started stirring inside her. Caroline begged her to let her try again. She didn't push after the no and despite everything she run to her as soon as she found out she was bleeding. She looked proud and happy at the monitor where the baby was and took it the best she could when she removed her hand hurting her. She never tried to avoid Celia inviting her to the wedding, she asked Celia and she said Caroline agreed. The older woman stared at her during the wedding as if she was the most precious thing, as if she was the only one on that room. Apologized. Smiled. Loved her... She has just gotten inside and closed the door when the last thought made her smile. Caroline loved her, she deserved a new chance. She had no idea about what her next step was, but she was going back and giving a new chance to that stubborn woman. The last chance. It was all Caroline's choice now.

Kate went back into the ball room and observed for a few minutes the interactions between Gillian and Caroline. She smiled, both of them were lost on their own thoughts and probably it was impossible to look any more miserable than how the looked right there. Suddenly Gillian just stood up and walked towards Robbie, a grin showed up on Kate's face. It seemed that both, Gillian and Caroline were love sick. Kate could still see herself walking straight towards Caroline, removing her coat and offering Caroline a hand asking her to dance. She was silently begging for Caroline to say yes, and the seconds she took to accept that hand seemed like an eternity. Irrational fear as happened with the bleeding, right then she was understanding Dr. Elliott's need of controlling everything. Caroline's face was a poem, she was as surprised about Kate being there again as about her offer, but she took the hand, she stood up and took the hand, of course she had to kept some control "is this... hmm... forever?". Relaxed at home Kate giggled at the memory of Caroline's face after quoting Prince... it was funny how clueless sometimes the woman was when it was related to pop culture.

They danced, and kissed, and kept dancing and kissing and Caroline seemed to not worry about what the others might say, Celia, Alan, Gillian, the boys... both of them knew everyone would be staring up at the lesbians dancing there, some of there probably thinking, "oh so lesbians aren't a myth... they exist", others would probably be talking sick about them, Laurence for sure was feeling embarrassed while William probably would be pretty proud of his mum,... but Caroline seemed up to try to be herself despite everyone else. The rest of the night was spent at the room, making love, smiling, giggling, caressing each other, making promises... promises that needed to be talked about and rationalized at the light of the new day.

Caroline Elliot was a piece of work, she was a challenge but Kate had the feeling that she was the best challenge she could ever find and she was willing to try everything with her. In about half an hour Caroline would be at her place and they would figure things out.