A/N: Big things below. Enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 59
Delia - 57
Melinda - 56
Ned - 33
Katie - 30
Aaron - 26
Scott - 26
Mackenzie - 21
Lana - 12
Emma - 10
Asher - 5
Willow - 2

Emma Clancy stood in the wings of the stage, holding her violin tight in her grasp. She was the last act of the night. It was known as the death spot for any type of show. No one wanted to be last, not unless you were confident enough and this ten-year-old was shaking in her boots. She was terrified of screwing up in front of everyone, especially on her mother's birthday, and that she would never live it down.

"Five minutes," the talent show director told her, pressing into her earpiece as she scurried off to do something backstage. "Do we have the spotlight ready for the final act? Is Principal Sparks ready?"

Emma's eyes fixated on her scribbled notes in measure twelve. She needed to get the carryover right, otherwise, the whole ending would be off. She had to get it right. She'd written it. The song took her almost the entire year to write and make sure all of the notes sounded good together.

All for her mom.

The talent show had fallen on Melinda's birthday and although she didn't like it, her family always spoiled her every year. Her dad would make her breakfast in bed, Katie and Mackenzie would take her to lunch and to get their nails done, Aaron brought her favorite chocolates and flowers, while Lana had drawn her something like she always did, and she had decided to write her song.

"Hey, Ems... are you doing okay? I thought I'd pop back and check on you before you go on," her eldest sister whispered, rubbing her shoulders as Katie snuck up behind her. "Seriously, you are tense. Just breathe and loosen up or you won't play as well."

She sighed "Is dad here yet?"

"He just came in. You know how it is at the hospital on Friday nights," Katie reminded her, pulling back the curtain enough for them to peek out. "See? He's right there. Just in time." Their dad adjusted himself in his seat, holding a bouquet in his lap. Their mother sat next to him, whispering to Delia. Ned sat next to her, looking bored as he held Katie's empty seat which was next to Mackenzie, who was giggling with Lana about something. Everyone but her brother had come, but Aaron promised he'd make it up to her. "Stop worrying. You're gonna do great. Everyone is already so proud of you."

"What if I mess up the carryover?" She muttered, making sure that her instrument was in tune. For the third time. "I always mess it up."

"You won't," Katie reassured her, winking. "Not this time."

"But what if I do?" She asked.

"Even if you do mom will still love that you wrote this beautiful piece of music for her. Plus you just keep going. No one can say anything if you just keep going, even if you mess up." Katie hugged her, kissing the top of her head in the same way their parents did. "Now remember to breathe and go to your place. I better get back before someone steals my seat."

Her older sister always knew what to say. She nodded, hugging her one last time for good luck. Katie squeezed her tightly before she slipped back out into the auditorium, taking her seat by Ned and Mackenzie as the overhead lights dimmed.

"Take your place on stage left," the director told her. "Principal Sparks will introduce you."

Emma walked out onto the stage, her dress shoes tapping along the stage floor. Her skirt swung around her legs, the dress was simple and blue. Her favorite color. Her left hand held her instrument and bow, her right fidgeting with the sheet music. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight bun, a flower clip matching her dress in place.

She looked out into the crowd, but couldn't make out faces, the lights a little too bright. The auditorium was packed, not a seat in the house empty. A black chair in the middle of the stage was where she sat, her violin resting on her knee.

The principal walked on moments later, the crowd clapping for him. "Now, to end tonight we have Emma Clancy. A talented sixth-grader who will be performing a composition that she wrote in honor of her mother's birthday." The man smiled over at her. "Emma... take it away."

The crowd clapped as he walked off, the spotlight fixed on her and as the room went silent, one voice rang out, Lana's.

"You got this!"

Katie yelled next, followed by Ned and her father whistling in the background. "We love you, Emma!"

She tried to withhold her laughter that bubbled at her crazy family and raised her violin to rest comfortably under her chin as she drew the bow across the strings. The song from her heart leaped from the strings and the audience listened tenderly.

Her arm and fingers moved with grace, the music pouring out into the auditorium. The last note rang out, her bow lifting from the string as she stood, bowing as everyone was on their feet clapping for her. The rush the crowd's energy gave her was enough for her heart to skip a beat.

She hadn't messed up. It had gone perfectly. Her grin spread as she bowed, walking off the stage with a kick in her step. Rather than going backstage, she'd taken the steps just to the left and ran straight into the arms of her father.

Jim swooped her up, placing her on his shoulders as everyone in her family that could come cheered for her, boasting about how beautiful she'd played.

It was the perfect night. What could go wrong?

After the talent show, everyone made their way to the parking lot before settling on who was riding with who. They were going back to the Clancy household for a home-cooked dinner. Jim went to his truck and Lana tagged along. Melinda, Delia, and Emma went to Melinda's jeep while Ned, Mackenzie, and Katie all piled into her SUV.

She had gotten in the front seat while Ned drove and Mackenzie hopped in the backseat. Mackenzie had been having problems with her boyfriend the past few months and wanted to talk to her big sister, so Katie hadn't cared about her husband turning on the sports station.

Settling into the leather seat, she listened intently while her sister recalled the night before.

"It started well. He'd surprised me after my shift at the hospital with meatloaf," Mackenzie sighed. "The intentions were nice, but Katie, I hate fucking meatloaf. Not to mention the kitchen reeked like cigarettes. I'm never getting back my deposit because of him."

"Yes, we know. You choked on meatloaf when you were a kid and have hated it since. You also hate that he smokes," she snickered, glancing back at her. "But Chase is trying to quit as you asked. Do you remember how long it took dad to quit? Ned still does off and on but he thinks I don't know."

Her husband side-eyed her but didn't say anything. He knew better than to start a fight over something stupid, especially in front of Mackenzie.

"I know. I know. It's not just the cigarettes," the blonde said, her brow furrowed her brow. "It's all of these little things. Like that he made me meatloaf? We've been together for eight months and I told him that story multiple times. He should know. It's also the fact that he always moves my keys to random places. I can never find them when I need them. Or when I ask him to do the dishes, he overloads it with everything. Do you know how many times I've had Dad or Aaron come over to fix that thing?"

"A lot," she said, knowing to the full extent from her brother and dad had traded off four times this month to fix it.

"Yeah," Mack huffed dramatically, hands going as she talked. "I feel so bad. Aaron has Leo and Damon to worry about and dad is busy at the hospital still. And Ned, do you know what Katie's least favorite meal is?"

"Clam chowder," he laughed, looking at her with a grin. "Remember when I took you to that place in Massachusetts?"

"Ugh, don't even mention clam chowder." Katie grimaced, shaking her head. She couldn't stand the smell or sight of it anymore. "I was sick for days. I can't even think about that trip nicely."

Her grandmother Faith still made it from time to time around holidays and she loved it as a kid, but after a terrible batch on a trip away with Ned, she couldn't eat it anymore.

It had been their first trip away together. The first two days of the trip had been great, but on the way home, they'd stopped for dinner at a diner off the highway. She'd gotten clam chowder and it had been fine. But it hadn't been more than forty minutes on the way back when they had to pull over because she felt like she was going to throw up.

"So, moving on... let's think about a time when you can talk to Chase alone, like adults. Right?" Katie continued, probing Mackenzie and trying to lighten the mood.

She could see her sister was stressing over this and after having to work double shifts in the ER, she should have a supportive boyfriend. They just didn't mesh the way a couple should. But Mack loved him and Katie could never tell her to break up with him unless it was something dangerous. That was her sister's decision.

Mackenzie nodded, knowing she was right. The blonde shifted in her seat, trying to fake a smile for her and now Katie couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her truly smile. Has it been two months? Or three? Had Mack and Chase been fighting for that long?

"What's your schedule like coming up?" Katie asked.

"I work a lot next week. Four-day shifts and three nights." Mackenzie explained. "Chase is working late nights all week to avoid me. Per usual."

"Well," she sighed, looking at her. It had never been this difficult for her to squeeze time in for her and Ned, and her husband had a difficult schedule to work with. "Try and find something to do for your day off with him and use your night off to relax. Maybe spark things up? Have things been normal in the bedroom?" She immediately thought of Ned, glancing over at him. He was looking at her too and she smiled, holding his warm gaze for a moment before she looked back at her sister. However, she picked up on her younger sister's quietness. "Come on Mack, I won't tell anyone and Ned has a terrible memory. When was the last time you had sex?"

"I don't know, like a month ago?" Mackenzie muttered, her shoulders sunk and she looked over at her. "He's tried to get me in the mood a couple of times, and I almost let myself give in last night, but I couldn't. What's wrong with me?"

Katie laughed, smiling at her. "There is nothing wrong with you." She assured her and reached back to hold her hand. "I mean, is there a reason behind why you don't want to have sex with Chase other than not being in the mood?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I can tell you," Mackenzie sighed and didn't grab her hand. Her little sister had never been like this.

The day Katie gave birth to Asher, the blonde had come to the hospital after a date to tell her all about the first time she had sex. Her sister just wasn't the type to hold much in for very long.

"Why not?" She asked and then noticed Mackenzie's gaze shift over to Ned. "What, him? He's not going to judge you."

"I know that, but he has to report crimes, Katie! He's a fucking Sargent on the police force." Her sister exploded and after a few moments of silence, she sniffled and wiped a tear away. "It wasn't Chase either. That's the problem."

She didn't know what to say and neither did Ned, but she could tell he was debating on saying something until Katie shook her head and he turned the radio to a song, hoping that would fill the tense silence as they drove down the snowy road.

"I didn't cheat on Chase, Katie, if that's what you're thinking," Mackenzie's voice sounded so deflated, so dull and quiet. "You know how I have been a TA for Lorielai's dad to make extra money?"

Well, she hadn't thought that. It wasn't a crime to cheat on your boyfriend. "Yeah. Dr. Jennings, right? He was in dad's first batch of interns as a resident. What about him?"

Mackenzie winced at his name and Katie didn't know what to think. Had something happened between them? Something sexual? Oh god. She had a sinking feeling in her chest.

Preston was her best friend's dad. He was their dad's pick to replace him if anything ever happened. There was no way she would have ever put herself in a position like that with him willingly.

The blonde shook her head and broke down as they came to stop at a stoplight, so Katie unbuckled and climbed into the backseat to comfort her.

"Mackenzie, what happened?" She asked, wrapping her arms around her little sister.

"He raped me and I didn't know what to do so I just pushed myself further into school. I pretended like it didn't happen and for a while, Preston did too, but he-" Mackenzie broke down again in her arms.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," she whispered. "I believe you."

"What if no one else does?" Mackenzie whimpered, clutching at her as Ash or Willow would but she didn't blame her. "I went back, Katie. I stayed away for a week or so, but eventually, he started showing up at the library and I went back to being his TA."

"Did it happen again?" She asked and her sister turned away, going back to her side of the seat. Her heart broke for her. No one reserved to have that happen to them, and it made her think of Mason taking that safety from her. It had taken years of therapy to get it back. "I'm so sorry."

Katie wasn't going to push anymore. She continued to hold her hand, keeping a lifeline open to her little sister just in case she still wanted to talk.

"Does anyone know what Jim's making for dinner?" Ned threw a topic out, wanting to lighten the mood, but Mackenzie was in another world, staring out the window.

Katie glanced over at him, shrugging. He'd heard everything they'd talked about. She knew that, but was he going to do something? It was his duty to report crimes but it wasn't clear if her sister wanted to press charges even though she wanted to tell her to.

She held his gaze, having a silent conversation with him that they would talk about this later before her father honked because the light was green and he pressed on the gas. She laughed, looking out the window as Ned pulled into the intersection.

It was still winter, even in the middle of February. A light coating of snow covered everything and reminded her to put her seatbelt back on. The light on the opposite street was red, but her eyes flicked down as headlights came at them and into the intersection.

"NED!" She screamed as he looked over and his foot slammed on the brake, but it was already too late to stop them from colliding.

The truck speeding towards them had either decided to run the light or slid on a patch of ice and crashed into the front end of their vehicle. It sent the cars careening off to the left and into the oncoming car, tires screeching the whole way until they came to a stop.

Mackenzie hadn't been wearing her seatbelt at the time and was thrown into the door nearest to her, her head shattering the window on impact, and then the force of the car spinning tossed her sister back at her and then out the window. Katie was sprawled over the back seat, awake and disoriented.

Her foot was crushed under the front seat and the blaring horn made her head spin as she tried to move. Lights swirled around her like Ferris wheels and the noise of the metal being bashing over the concrete was almost deafening.

She could hear a crowd forming and the sound of a man. A familiar voice that gave her the adrenaline to move, wanting to find whoever it was. She felt her bones almost break again as she did and screamed in pain, pressing her face into the seat and immediately regretting it.

Blood poured out and she moved to touch her face feeling that her nose had been broken. Probably from when Mackenzie slammed into her. She was fleetingly aware of the bloody taste in her mouth but she couldn't figure out what it was.

At times she thought she must be at home in bed because it was so dark. Then why the cold? Why the pain, God, why so much pain? Then came a blue flicker, the sound of sirens, wait, police?

No, then it came back to her. The crash. Mackenzie was gone. Where was her sister? Was Ned still alive? "Baby?" When he didn't answer, she whimpered. No. No. "Ned? Can you hear me?"

A fleeting feeling of someone touching her back, made her turn her head, finding her father's eyes looking at her from above. "Katie, hey. Can you hear me?" Jim was sweating, blood smeared on his shirt. "I'm going to try and get your ankle out, okay baby?"

"I can hear you, dad," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Is Ned okay? He isn't answering me."

"Yes, Ned is going to be fine. He is up and talking, and is in the ambulance. We got him out of the car first." Her father explained, his hands carefully touching her leg. She cried out, but he worked her leg free and then put pressure on the wound.

"And Mackenzie?" She couldn't think about losing her sister. Any of them. Ever. "Is she okay?"

"Someone is trying to stabilize her," he said, choking up. His tears caught in his throat and he coughed, clearing them away. "She's pretty bad, Katie. Why wasn't Mack wearing her seatbelt?"

"She was at first, but she unbuckled to hug me... and I think she forgot to buckle up again. I barely did before the crash happened," she explained to him as he put a neck brace on her before carefully carrying her out of the car. He laid her onto a gurney, smiling at her once he could see her face again. The paramedics set to work on her leg before they moved her again. "Where's mom?"

"Delia has been trying to keep your mom, Emma and Lana relaxed and in the car," her dad started to explain, his attention on her nose. He kept talking while he carefully reset it and she bit back the pain, tasting blood in her mouth again.

"Did that work out for her?" She wiped the blood from her mouth, trying to stay awake as her head throbbed.

"No. It lasted for about two minutes. They are likely being held back by Josh behind the yellow tape." He explained, holding up the flashlight pen that he had in his pocket at all times. "And Katie, follow the light, okay?"

"Josh is here?" She asked, following the light.

"Yeah, just over there," he pointed out to her as he put his pen away.

She turned her head and spotted Letrai, his familiar figure standing with his back to the scene. Her eyes went around, seeing a body bag on the street and a person standing over it. A man, with bloody hands.

"I'm sorry," the ghost said, looking over at her. He appeared next to her then. "I am. I didn't notice the red light and when I tried to slow down... I slid on the ice. I didn't mean to hurt your family."

"It's okay. We forgive you," she whispered, even if she didn't because he deserved to hear it now and find peace in the light, and noticed one of her dad's paramedic friends looking around confused. One of the many downfalls of speaking with the dead.

"Must've conked your head good, aye Katie?" Bobby chuckled, but her dad silenced him with a look.

"We're good here Bob," Jim said. "How about you go get me an update on Mackeznie and fetch Ned over here so my daughter can see her husband?"

"That not protocol-"

"I don't give a damn. Go do what I asked you to," Jim shouted until the man was on his feet and moving. Her father didn't yell very often but when he did people moved. "I can take care of fixing your sloppy field splint on my own." Once Bobby was gone, he winked at her. "There, you should be all good now."

"Thanks, Dad," she said, smiling at him and then glancing over at the ghost who had been waiting his turn. "Do you have anyone you want me to get into contact with?

"I'm not stupid. You probably hate me," the ghost muttered.

"I could hate you, but I don't," she said, staying firm with her mother's ever-lasting advice. Grudges weren't worth keeping spirits around. "You deserve to be at peace just as much as anyone. A bad driving mistake shouldn't change that. Is there someone you want me to get in touch with?"

"Can you check on my son for me? My name is... was Burton Allen. My son is only seven years old." The ghost said, appearing closer to her. "Just tell him that I love him, and my girlfriend..." He was emotional, the energy surging through her and causing a bit too much to burst forth and cause her to cry. She also knew what it was like to have someone so little and precious waiting at home for her. "Mila needs to know that I bought a ring for her. It was on my side table under the false bottom. Make sure she knows that."

"Okay, I will," she said, wiping her tears away. "I can do that for you." And then the man was gone.

Her father looked up, seeing no one there but the body bag, and swallowed. Jim didn't know that the ghost wasn't there or that he'd already crossed over, but Katie watched him try to forgive the man. "I forgive you too, for what it's worth," he whispered, looking back at her as he wrapped her leg up in a stable splint. "You know, what you guys do is beautiful."

"Thanks, Dad," she whispered. "But there's something I have to tell you."

"Something about the ghost or you?" He asked, his voice calm. It was just so easy to talk to him, but this hurt more than anything to say out loud. "What do you need to tell me?"

"About me. He's gone, but uh I'm pregnant, or I was," she said and tears sprung from her eyes as he kissed her hand. They both knew how improbable it was for her child to have survived this kind of trauma, but she prayed it was in the cards. She didn't have it in her to lose another. "It was still early so Ned and I had wanted to wait to tell anyone. But you should probably let the paramedics know for when I get to the hospital."

"Oh, bug," he whispered against the palm of her hand. "How far along are you?"

"Ten weeks and four days," she whispered, sniffling.

He nodded and stood, bringing the gurney up and waving over a paramedic to help him hold the other side. "I'll go see about finding Ned, hmm?"

"Thank you," she said.

"We need to get her to the hospital. Now." He filled the EMT up to speed the best he could as her mother pushed past LeTrai and toward her.

"Katie? Baby, is that you?" Melinda's voice was shaky and there was a moment when she felt her mother's clammy hand slip into hers and squeeze it, but then Jim held her back, whispering into her ear. "Jim, is that Katie? Wait, where's Mack?"

She looked at him and held her father's gaze as he spoke to her mother softly. "Katie will be fine, and she has Ned. You should stay to ride with Mackenzie." Jim said after he pulled back from whispering into Melinda's ear, rubbing her back, soothing her in any way he could.

As soon as she heard his name, her husband was by her side and she felt relief to see Ned was up and walking, but her heart hurt as she quickly noticed how banged up his face and arms were.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. "I was so worried... I saw you were passed out and thought-"

"No, no. I'm right here. I should be asking you that," he said and leaned in to kiss her. "The baby... God Katie... I haven't been able to stop thinking about you or the baby."

"I know. My leg's pretty banged up and I'm pretty sure Mack slamming into me broke my nose," she sighed, her eyes falling closed at the content feeling of him tucked in near her. "But I'm so happy you are okay. Have you heard anything about my sister? No one's told me anything."

He shook his head and stepped back slightly as the EMTs readied the gurney to go up into the ambulance. Her mother stole the moment to come close and embrace her the best she could.

"Mom, hi," Katie looked over at her, seeing LeTrai lingering over and pulling Ned aside about something. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but Melinda engulfed her in a hug before she could wonder more. "I'm okay, mom. It's mostly just my leg. Mack needs you right now."

"I know you have Ned, but your my daughter too. You were my first baby, and I will never stop worrying about you," Melinda cried, rubbing her arm. "And I know you were staying quiet about it, but your dad told me." Her mother's hand touched her stomach and she felt herself cry again, the tears running down both her cheeks this time. She didn't want to lose another baby. She'd lost enough already. "I want you to know I'm praying every second for a good outcome for you. Your sister is stable for now. Your dad hasn't told me much but she wasn't wearing her seatbelt?"

"We were having a pretty heavy conversation so we had both unbuckled when I was comforting her. I just happened to buckle up in time again," she sighed, grasping her hand tightly. Her head throbbed and she whimpered as her leg moved and her mother kissed her forehead.

She couldn't stop thinking about her kids. Asher and Willow, the lights of her life. They were at home, waiting for them to come home and have a movie marathon with them. They were making pizzas with Hannah and Jace while making a fort to watch the movies in the living room while they had dinner and went to the talent show.

They easily could've died tonight and their kids would've never seen their parents again. She couldn't imagine being able to smell the sweet scent of Willow's hair after a bath as she held her close, reading her a bedtime story, or the joy on Asher's face when he scored a goal at hockey practice.

"Umm, you should send someone to the house. Hannah will want to come to the hospital and she's watching the kids. We were going to have a movie night, and I need someone to do that for me... and have Ned sit them down and tell them about what's going on tomorrow. Willow is too little to know too much, but Asher will start to wonder and he should know. He just doesn't need to know tonight. It'll only scare him."

"Hey," Melinda soothed her worries, smiling at her. It was still so hard for her to see her baby all grown up, but she was. Katie was thirty with two kids, a wonderful teaching career, and a loving husband. "Your babies are going to be taken care of, okay? I promise."

She had faith in her family to take care of them. Everything was going to be okay.

"Katie?" Her head turned and she was staring up at Mackenzie, her first-ever little sister, who was at her side. That wasn't possible. Her sister couldn't be right there unless... "What happened? I don't remember... mom? Is that you?"

"Mackenzie," Melinda whispered and Jim ran over to where she was before they had started compressions again. Her dad pushed the rookie EMT out of the way and started them himself. "No..no..no..no. NO! You can't be—"

"Dead...? What happened? Was there a crash...? I had taken off my seat belt," the blonde muttered, turning around to look at herself on the ground. Melinda sprinted over to where Mackenzie's body was, falling to her knees as she held her hand and watched as Jim was trying to get her heart started again. An EMT was holding pressure to the wound on her head, which he had finally gotten to stop. "Fuck if that man is the death of me I will haunt him forever. I still haven't finished school or told Scott that—" Mackenzie stopped herself, not wanting to say it out loud yet if she wasn't saying it to him.

"That you love him?" She said, glancing over at Ned as he came back over to her. She was trying to keep it together. Her sister was dead enough to be talking to her outside of her body and she hated it.

"Typical, big sis," Mackenzie smiled, wishing she could hold her hand as she was finally lifted into the ambulance. "You always knew things before I even did sometimes, didn't you?"

Katie smiled. She knew the minute her sister first laid her eyes on Ned's partner that there would be something between them. If not right then, then someday.

Her father came running, the stretcher moving now with Mackenzie strapped in and wrapped in a blanket. "She's lost a lot of blood and has a very weak pulse," Jim yelled as he pushed the stretcher. "BP is low. 85 over 40 and with her head injury, we need to get her into CT and MRI immediately to know exactly what's going on. Radio the hospital and let them know."

"Got it," the EMT said, pulling the stretcher up inside the rig. "Are you coming with Clanc?"

"My wife will be right over to ride with Mackenzie," her father said, nodding to him. "I've still gotta drive the truck back and check in on the grandkids before meeting you back at the hospital. It was good to see you, Ramirez. Even under these circumstances."

Jim was the true hero here. He'd saved every one of them, not taking a second to breathe. Just running and never hesitating to make a call if he needed to, not even for a second. He was not going to lose anyone he loved today.

Not one.

"I have to go," Mackenzie said, looking at the ambulance that her own body had been put into as the doors were closed. "But just know I'm pulling for the baby too."

"I know. Good luck, little sis," she whispered as the blonde disappeared.

Her father had run over to Delia and Lana, filling them in. Lana was hugging her dad now. Katie could see how Lana was worried out of her mind for her and Mackenzie. And for Ned, he was just as much her brother as Aaron was.

She glanced over to see Ned there beside her. Her husband was going to be fine compared to her, she knew that. He had gone through worse just in a day's work as a police officer sometimes. His arm was in a sling, his shoulder had been dislocated and he had a cheek wound covered in gauze, his forehead too, but the blood had clotted and it would be fine until they got to the hospital.

He was such a rock in a crisis. Always stable. Always strong and patient. He knew what to do and no one questioned him. Just like her father. It had taken some time to get there though.

Ned came over to her after a few minutes and climbed into the ambulance, taking hold of her hand. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked softly.

"For having my leg broke and my head throbbing, yeah," she said, squeezing his hand. "Do you know who's going to watch the kids? I assume my dad isn't staying for long."

"Yeah, Uncle Josh is on his way over to talk to Hannah and do all that."

"Uncle Josh, huh?" She laughed, shaking his head. "Has he ever watched the kids alone together? They can be a handful."

"He'll be fine. I have faith in our police chief that the house will be under control," he said, winking at her. "Plus your dad will be stopping by so that'll help."

Katie nodded, letting her eyes fall closed as she tried to concentrate on something that wasn't the pain she could feel.