A/N: Thank you so, so much for your wonderful feedback. You guys are the best! Those of you who have told me you've read all the chapters in one sitting... you have no idea how happy that makes me. Really, thank you.

At the end of the tunnel

Chapter 15

Kate tried to get her racing heart and haggard breathing under control while Rick drove them to Jake's apartment. After Olivia's phone call, they had run back into the hospital across the street to let her father know that she was going to go pick up her kids at Jake's and that they probably would only come back in the morning. Her father told her not to worry about him; he was just fine and that she should worry about her children.

And that would become a problem now because she couldn't trust Jake with Alex and Olivia anymore. Not if her daughter was calling her twelve hours he had taken them to beg her to come home. She wasn't sure what had happened, but a series of worst case scenarios kept running in front of her eyes and she just couldn't control them. Couldn't wish them away until she had both her children safe in her arms and away from their father.

"Hey," she heard Rick's voice break through the fogginess of her brain as he took hold of her hand. "Whatever it is, we're going to get through it." He brought her hand to his lips for a reassuring kiss. "Together. I promise."

She nodded, unable to get the words out when the knot in her throat and the overwhelming need to cry were in the way. Looking out the window, she brushed a lone tear away with the back of her hand and took a deep, shaky breath.

What the hell had he done? No matter what he had against her, or however much he might hate her, Alex and Olivia were still his children too. So if he had done anything to harm them in any way, it was completely unacceptable.

Rick parked the car about a block away from Jake's building and she all but ran the rest of the way there. Nodding to the doorman in greeting, she quickly made her way to the elevators, pressing the button frantically as if that would make the car come down faster. Rick touched the small of her back in a comforting gesture, placing a soft kiss to her temple. She looked up at him and smiled, turning around to touch his cheek.

"Maybe it would be best if you waited down here." She whispered, brushing her thumb gently over his jaw. "I don't know what I'm going to find up there and I don't want to make things worse. I mean, he already made a scene when he saw you this morning."

"Of course, Kate. Don't worry about it. Do you want me to wait here or somewhere else?" He tucked the loose strand of her hair behind her ear and she leaned into his touch, trying to take some of his strength.

"There's a diner about a block away from here, heading south. Maybe you can wait there? I'll call you when I come down with them." She suggested and he nodded, leaning in to kiss her cheek, then her lips.

"If you need anything, just call and I'll come right back." He told her seriously and she nodded, just as the elevator arrived. Stepping into it, she pushed the button for the sixth floor and leaned against the back wall, taking a deep breath to calm down her nerves.

The ride seemed endless and when the doors finally opened on the sixth floor, Kate ran to the door of her old apartment at the of the corridor, trying to steel herself against what she was about to face.

Knocking on the door, she held her breath when she heard footsteps. Jake soon appeared, frowning in confusion when he saw her. He only had a towel around his waist and his hair was dripping wet. Kate thought that, once upon a time, this would be exactly what she needed to see to jump him immediately, but right now all she felt was a complete repulse towards him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He hissed at her, animosity clear in his voice, before looking behind him as if to check if the kids were nearby.

"I just got a call from Olivia begging me to come and take them home. What the hell did you do to my children?" She asked angrily and pushed him out of the way, entering the apartment.

"Mom!" She heard her little girl's voice and turned towards the sound in time to see her running from her room. "Mom, we want to go home. Please." Olivia threw herself into her arms, hugging her tightly. Alex quickly followed her, wanting in on the hug too.

"See?" She turned to Jake, who was staring at the scene dumbfounded. She thought she had smelled alcohol in his breath when he opened the door, but now she was sure. There were several beer bottles scattered over the floor, near the couch. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed defensively. "Olivia, honey, what's going on?" He tried to get closer to the girl, but she only tightened her hold around Kate's waist.

"I want to go home, dad. Now." She said quietly, but Jake shook his head.

"You are home, Olivia." He insisted, but she interrupted him.

"I want to go home. With mom. I don't live here anymore." She whispered that last part, looking down at her feet, and Kate hugged her tighter. She sounded so sad.

"Mommy, I didn't do anything wrong, I promise. I didn't do anything wrong." Alex said, holding onto her hand, looking up at her with imploring eyes and she nodded at her little boy with a smile.

"We can discuss this later, Jake. I should just take them home." Kate said tiredly.

"No, you can't take them. They are my kids too." He protested and she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"They want to go home, Jake. I don't know what you've done, but I think the least you can do is respect their wishes now." She said and turned to Alex and Olivia. "Guys, go get your things and we'll be on our way." Kate watched as her children ran in the direction of their bedrooms and, once they were out of sight, she turned back to her ex-husband. "If I find out you laid a hand on a hair of their head or hurt them in any way, I'm going to report you. Are we clear?" She said coldly, barely repressing her anger, her hands in tight fists by her sides.

"I didn't do anything. I don't know what the hell you've been feeding them about me, but they've been total brats all day. All I did was try to educate them better." He retorted, just as coldly, glaring at her with fury.

"We're ready, mommy." Alex called out, running back into the living room. Olivia followed him closely, her backback and her brother's hanging from each of her shoulders. Kate took Alex's from her and took her children's hands in hers, directing them to the door.

"Bye, dad." Olivia said quietly when they passed by Jake and he touched her shoulder. She shied away.

"Olivia..." he said and Kate thought she could hear a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Bye, Jake." Kate said over her shoulder and led the kids to the elevator, which thankfully was still on their floor. "We'll discuss this later." She told him flatly before stepping into the car.

The ride down was made in silence. Kate knew her children and she knew they would talk when they were ready. When they reached the first floor, Olivia asked about her grandfather.

"He's doing much better, honey. We spent the day with him today and he asked a lot about you and your brother." She explained with a small smile, quickly texting Rick to let him know she was on her way.

"Oh, that's great, mom." Olivia smiled and Kate sighed in relief at seeing her daughter smiling for the first time that night. "When can we see him?"

"He's probably going home tomorrow and he's staying with us for a few days, so you'll see plenty of him." She reassured her little girl, who nodded. Alex was still quiet. "Rick is waiting for us at that diner we always go to. Do you guys want to go see him, get something to eat?"

"Yeah, absolutely." The young girl smiled again and Kate nodded before turning to Alex.

"Baby bear?" She asked and saw her son smile again.

"Yeah, I want to see Rick." He nodded enthusiastically, making Kate chuckle.

They made their way to the diner with the kids asking about their grandfather and what the doctor had said and if he was really okay. She was still reassuring them when they opened the door to the diner and her eyes found Rick sitting at a corner booth all the way in the back. Alex immediately found him as well and ran to him, climbing onto the seat to get into his arms. Kate watched as her son hugged Rick close and how her boyfriend looked at her questioningly, concern clear in his eyes.

She made her way to their booth with Olivia and waited for her daughter to scooch over on the seat to make room for her.

"Hi, Rick." The girl said with what looked like a relieved smile. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Liv. How are you guys doing?" He asked slowly, Alex still clinging to him as if his life depended on it.

"Daddy said we would never see you again." Alex said quietly and Kate felt her heart break for her kids and for this awful mess they found themselves in. "He said that we weren't allowed and that we shouldn't like you." He pulled back from Rick's arms and Kate saw a tear escape his eyes, which Rick caught with his thumb.

"Oh, honey, of course you can see Rick. That's just silly. He's your friend too, isn't he?" Kate reached across the table to touch her little boy's hand.

"That's what me and Livie told him, but he just yelled at us for it." He finally stopped trying to contain his tears and a sob escaped. Kate's chest tightened, her heart shattered for the pain her little boy was feeling.

"Liv?" She turned to her daughter and found the young girl's sad eyes watching her brother.

"He yelled at us all day, mom. And we didn't even do anything. Then he started drinking and kept asking if we wanted to come live with him and that we would live with him even if we didn't want to. Because you couldn't take care of us, because you would get a new family and you didn't care about us anymore." She said in a rush, all in one breath, the tears threatening to fall at any moment. Kate touched her cheek and caught her tears when they inevitably started falling. "And I told him it's not true, that you love us and that you'd never do that. Ever." She took a deep, shaky breath and held onto Kate's hand tightly. "I thought he was going to hit me when I said I wanted to live with you and that I'd always choose you."

"Oh, baby." Kate gathered her little girl in her arms and let her cry for a moment. "Liv, listen to me. I love you and your brother more than anything in the world. You guys always come first in my life. Always. Don't ever doubt that." She rubbed soothing circles on the girl's back. Olivia pulled away enough to look up at her, blue eyes shining with tears.

"Promise?" Her voice shook so hard that Kate had to take a deep breath in order to control her emotions.

"Cross my heart, baby." She placed a lingering kiss to her daughter's forehead, breathing her in for a moment. "Do you hear that, Alex? I love you both so much." She asked her young son, who was listening intently to their conversation, his tears still drying on his cheek. He was leaning back against Rick's chest, her boyfriend's arm securing him.

"I love you too, mommy. And I love Rick too." He declared and Kate met Rick's eyes in surprise, the shock clear in his eyes. She nodded when he looked at her questioningly.

"I love you too, Alex." He said quietly, kissing the boy's dark hair. "Both of you." He looked up at Olivia and Kate smiled when she saw her daughter smiling at him before nodding.

"Can we still see him, mommy? Please? I'll be really, really good, I promise." Alex asked imploringly.

"Of course you can, baby bear." She smiled at him as he relaxed back into Rick's chest, praying that things wouldn't get worse from here on out. "Do you guys want to eat something? Did you have dinner at your dad's?" She asked and they both shook their heads.

"Can I have a burger, mom?" Olivia asked, sounding more like herself as she brushed away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Go ahead and order, Liv." She tucked a loose strand behind her daughter's ear as Rick called the waitress over.

While her kids ordered burgers and shakes, she felt Rick take her hand over the table and give it a comforting squeeze. She smiled sadly at him and looked down at her daughter, now happily teasing her brother, as he threw a napkin at her with a laugh. Meeting Rick's eyes again, she squeezed his hand back and put her arm around Olivia, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do now.

A/N: Thoughts?