A/N: This is the final chapter for this story about Celia. It's been on my computer for a bit but this is the first I've had time to clean it up and post it. Thanks for all the great reviews and support. This story's been a little personal as I had to help some elderly relatives settle into a retirement home because of issues similar to Celia's. What it showed me was the importance of boarding the Arc two-by-two and the key is knowing how to time it right. That's been the theme behind this little tale. Here's to the comfort of having someone with whom to hold hands when you venture out into the world. Carpe Diem-Dis-Moi.

Caroline sleepily stumbled into the kitchen to ready Flora's bottle, her precious baby cradled protectively in her arms. Before Flora arrived, she detested seeing this hour of the morning. Suddenly, it was a favorite part of her daily routine. She contentedly settled into the armchair, warmed bottle in hand, and smiled down at Flora as she began to feed.

Caroline and Kate had fallen into a pattern where Kate would take the middle of the night feed and Caroline would get the one just around five am. That afforded Kate a little extra REM sleep. Had Kate been able to breastfeed, Caroline likely wouldn't have had this alone time with her, but neither baby nor the newly minted mummy had taken to it, despite all their valiant efforts. After several days of tears, Kate quietly admitted that she was no longer feeling like a failure on that score. Caroline's constant reassurances that she too hadn't managed it with either of her boys and they had turned out strong and healthy helped when Kate's self-doubt crept in.

"For someone who once told me she didn't want to be a mum again, you look very happy," Kate said quietly as she breezed into the kitchen. "Penny for them."

"Hmmm. Morning you. What are you doing up?" Caroline looked up from Flora and gave Kate a watery smile, trying to keep the emotion out of her expression.

"Our bed was suddenly cold and empty." She turned the kettle on before turning to rest against the counter across from her wife and child. She paused to take in the now common sight she thought she'd never see in those long days and night when she was wallowing alone during her pregnancy.

"You haven't taken my offer so am I to assume a penny isn't enough for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking how she's like a quiet little bird when she feeds. She opens her mouth just enough to take the bottle as soon as she sees it. The boys would howl until they made contact with theirs and then they'd gulp it down so quickly I worried they would choke; but not Flora. She seems so content, even when she's hungry." Caroline removed the now empty bottle and wiped the drops of formula that had collected under Flora's bottom lip. She handed her to Kate to wind as she moved to the sink to rinse out the bottle.

"I use to think 'content' was an ugly word," shared Kate. "Whenever I felt content before it meant I needed to stretch for something more or it meant that I stood a chance of losing something precious if I started to take it for granted."

Caroline could tell Kate was in one of her introspective moods and decided to roll with it, despite the early hour. "And now?"

"It's a good word. There's a certain peace to it, but it still makes me nervous. Despite Celia's health, there's been more drama free days strung together since her birth than we've ever had but I worry the other shoe is about to drop," Kate responded as she stood to place Flora in her bouncy chair and turned it on to vibrate to soothe her before turning back to fix the cup of tea Caroline set down on the counter for her.

"Ha. I know what you mean. Our wedding went off without a hitch. Flora managed to arrive almost on schedule and without much fuss. And now, Mum and Alan are about to move to their apartment at the retirement village. Maybe our luck has finally started to take a turn for the better."

"Shhh. Don't jinx it," cautioned Kate with a smile. "At least with Celia the meds seem to be taking hold."

Celia saw the specialist and began her course of medication without much delay. No one was more relieved than Alan that the regime gave some relief to his wife's condition and she brightened quite a bit. He enjoyed having his wife back to some extent but wondered how long it would be until the meds weren't strong enough to keep her dementia at bay.

Caroline and Gillian spent a great deal of time with their heads together trying to come up with a solution to cope with Celia's condition in a way that supported both their parents. Alan joined in some of those discussions when Celia would nap. Kate's experience with her father proved useful but it was still a different situation as back then there were no medications and almost as soon as his condition was named, he needed a care home. It was decided that the sooner they found a retirement home the better as it would give the Buttershaws a chance to enjoy it before one of them needed skilled care.

Caroline and Kate's having to cope with Celia's delusions helped cement their relationship even more than they realized. On some cellular level, it made them bullet proof when Celia would let the odd gay slur fly in their direction. It happened less and less now but could still unexpectedly happen when she was being particularly feisty.

"I know. I wasn't sure how many more conversations I could tolerate about her delusions. I mean, I understand the doctor telling us to talk her through them rather than try to talk her out of them but really, how many times do we really need to talk about sex with her? Why couldn't her condition have hit another part of her brain than the pleasure center?" Caroline gave a little involuntary shudder as she spoke. Even on her best days before the strokes, Celia's behavior could be cringe-worthy. But after, some days it was more than she could handle, let alone having to do so with a straight face.

"She can be quite entertaining. I just feel sorry for Alan that he's had to put up with some of those outrageous allegations. Imagine him being a sex addict in his mid 70's. Mind you, I won't mind if you are at that age," she said with a smug, self-satisfied grin.

Caroline moved to her wife. "Just to be clear, if I am at that age, I won't be running around with the local sex club like she thinks Alan is, understood? I'll save it all for you."

"Hmm," Kate replied as Caroline leaned down to land a soft kiss on her upturned lips. "I'll take that as a promise."

"All I can say is 'thank God for Alan'," Caroline said after a beat. "He's been so supportive of us from the beginning that I don't mind as much having to help him with her when she has her…whatever they are."

"At least it's happening less and less and they found a place they like," Kate said. "Did you meet the people in the flat next to theirs? Think we should warn them about her?"

"Tom and Diana? I think they'll get on just fine with them but it's not our place to warn them. Alan can do that if he feels the need. I wouldn't want to embarrass Mum like that. She seems to really understand how to contain talking about her delusions in front of others. I'm just worried about that Harvey guy if she lets anything fly. He seems to be utterly lacking people skills. Not good for an administrator in place like that."

"Ha. He reminded me a little of Basil Fawlty. I pity him if he ever crosses you. My sense is you'd wipe the floor with him if it ever came down to a battle of wits," Kate said as she noticed Flora had been lulled back to sleep by her seat. She flipped the switch to off to save the battery and stop it from vibrating. "Yeah, Bay View won't know what hit it."