Chapter 17

Thomas Hobart swore as he watched the news.

The press it seemed had finally gotten wind of his shooting, and what they were reporting pissed him off.

Not only did he not hit the bitch, he hit her father. Her father who happened to be an NYPD sergeant.

"SHIT!" he swore aloud.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Maureen Jacobs watched the TV with worry, hopping to see the status of her brother.

While she was married with two children of her own, Maureen was still close with her brother. And while the redhead had been young when the family had immigrated to America, and didn't really remember Ireland, he had been there for her. Even when he had joined the Marines and been stationed overseas, Connor had written her regularly.

She had been the Maid of Honor in his wedding to Mariko.

She was disappointed that Katherine hadn't called her, but she was probably overwhelmed. Especially since he had apparently been in her shop when he was shot.

Maureen just hopped….

The redhead's eyes widened. "KYLE!" she yelled to her husband.

The blonde man came running, in time to see his wife pulling her summer coat on and grabbing her keys. "What?" he asked, a bit frantically.

"I gotta go," she said, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "Make sure Mark and Vic get their homework done, and order pizza when it's time for dinner."

"Wait, what's wrong?" Kyle asked. "Did Kathy call?"

Maureen shook her head. "No, but if she hasn't called us yet, I doubt she called mother."

"Shit," Kyle muttered. He dug in his pockets and pulled out his keys. "Take the jag," he said, handing them to her. "I'm afraid I parked behind you last night, and you don't have time for me to move it if you want to reign in Anne."

His wife gave him a quick smile as she bolted out the door.

They both hopped she'd beat Anne MacAuley to the hospital.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Morning found Kat in the hospital once more. Angela was with her, Demona having told her to stay with Kat for as long as the other woman needed her.

Angela couldn't help but feel awful about the situation as she watched her mate gently tell her unconscious father about her day, and the progress on her bike.

Connor didn't look at all like the strong, vibrant man she'd met before. He had several visible bandages, had a tube down his throat, an IV in his arm, and was hooked up to an array of machines.

The only real source of comfort was the beep of the heart monitor, assuring both women that the greying Irishman was alive.

The relative peace of the room was broken by a loud voice in the hallway yelling, "I DON"T CARE IF THERE ARE ALREDY TWO PEOPLE IN THERE! HE'S MY SON DAMN IT!"

Angela instantly noticed how Kat tensed. Standing from her father's side, she said, "We should go, now."

"Kat?" Angela questioned.

Before Kat could answer, an older woman with white hair entered the room. She was using a cane to support her weight, but her blue eyes were hard and unforgiving.

"Grandmother," Kat greeted.

"Why is it I had to hear about MY son being shot from the news, and not a phone call?" she demanded.

Kat gulped. "I'm sorry Grandmother, I forgot," Kat apologized.

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it this time Kathleen." She turned her attention to Angela. "And who is this?"

"This is Angela Nolava," Kat said, and Angela could hear the nervousness in her voice. "Angela, this is my Grandmother, Anne MacAuley."

"Pleased to meet you," Angela said politely, as she held out her hand.

Anne ignored her. "And what is she doing here?" the woman demanded. "She's not family."

"She's…here for me," Kat said, only to be cut off by her grandmother.

"And you thought it was appropriate to have your friends in your father's room when he's fighting for his life?" Anne said, her voice raising.

"Perhaps we should go out to the lobby," Angela suggested.

Anne turned to her, "Stay out of this you fool," she yelled, before turning back to her granddaughter. "Well?"

"She'd more than a friend Grandmother. She's…" Kat was cut off as Anne slapped her, hard.

"Get out and take your whore dyke with you Kathleen," Anne demanded. "Your father doesn't need this filth while he's healing."

Angela was furious with Anne's treatment of Kat, and stepped in before her mate could reply. "Kat has every right to be here," she said, stepping closer to the old woman. Before she could say anything else, Kat grabbed her arm.

"Let's just go," She said, her voice subdued.

"Kat…"

"Come on Angela," she said, tugging her mate out of the room, leaving that despicable woman alone with Connor.

But before they made the last step out of the room, Anne spoke again, "I never want to see you again Kathleen."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kat did her best to stave off her tears as she pulled Angela out to the lobby. She may not be on the best terms with her grandmother, but Anne MacAuley's words still hurt her.

Once they reached the lobby, Angela softly asked, "Why are you allowing her to get away with this?"

The kitsune took a breath before replying. "I'm used to her treatment," she admitted. "And I really don't want to get into a fight here. It's the last thing Dad would want. For now, I'll just…stay out of her way."

"He's your father Kat," Angela said, gently holding her shoulders. "You have even more right to be here than she does."

"It doesn't matter," Kat said.

Before anymore could be said, another woman appeared. Wearing jeans and a white blouse, she had bright red hair, and crystal blue eyes. Angela thought she looked like a younger, female version of Connor. "Kathy," she said softly.

Kat smiled at her. "Hey Aunt Maur."

The woman held her arms open and Kat went over and hugged her. "I'm so sorry Kathy," she said. "How's he doing?"

"Alright," Kat said. "I'm sorry I didn't call. It slipped my mind."

The woman smiled gently and ran a hand through Kathy's hair. "It's alright," she assured her. "I'm sure you've been overwhelmed." She frowned slightly. "But why aren't you in his room?"

Kat stepped back and crossed her arms. "Grandmother kicked me out."

The redhead sighed. "I'm sorry. I hoped I'd beat her here, but I guess not." She turned and looked at Angela. "And who is this?" she asked kindly.

Kat smiled slightly, and took Angela's hand. "This is Angela Nolava." She looked at Angela. "Angela, this is my Aunt Maureen, she's Dad's little sister."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Angela," Maureen said. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Angela smiled lightly, though her eyes flashed to Kat. "So do I."

"Aunt Maur, Angela…she's, well…"

"You're girlfriend," the redhead said with a smile. At the shocked look on Kat's face, she said, "Connor told me you had one. I'm happy for you."

"At least someone is," Kat sighed.

Maureen winced. "I can imagine." With a sigh, she said, "Why don't you two head out for a while. I'll deal with Mother, so hopefully she won't give you any more trouble when you get back. I'll also call you if anything changes with Connor."

"Thanks Aunt Maur."

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Maureen watched her niece and her girlfriend leave, before sighing.

Damn.

She hated damage control with her mother. Connor was so much better at it.

000000000000000000000000000000000000

After leaving the hospital, Angela took Kat to the Eyrie to continue work on the motorcycle.

The gargoyle in human form watched in fascination as her mate worked on the bike, conversation flowing freely between them.

Still, as distracted as she was, Angela couldn't help it when her thoughts drifted to that woman that was Kat's grandmother.

And she understood her mother's views on humanity a little better. Though she still didn't agree with them. If the people Demona interacted with throughout the years acted like Anne, her mother would be more than justified in her opinions.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Puck was excited, though he didn't show it, due to being stuck as Owen at the moment.

He couldn't wait until tomorrow when the photo-shoot occurred. He had everything figured out in regards to his prank. Sure, it wouldn't be that well received at first, but he was confident that Demona, Fox, and Angela would appreciate his efforts given time.

Not to mention it would be incredibly entertaining.

Oh how he loved loopholes.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sorry for the long wait. And I hope you enjoyed meeting Kat's human family, besides Connor. And yes, Anne is meant to be a bitch. I know this is mostly filler, but I needed to kill time before the photo shoot, and I was trying to figure out how to get everyone to meet Anne. I figured this was a great opportunity.

Next chapter we have the photo shoot, and perhaps Puck's prank.